English

Abstract

Introduction The issue of violence against women within the family, or as it is widely known domestic violence, is appearing now firmly as much in European policies as in Greek legislation in order to tackle and prevent this phenomenon. Unfortunately, European and Greek laws do not fully cover this important subject and as the respective studies show, domestic violence rates are increased. In the present review we are going to refer, briefly, to the historical background of the actions and the Greek legislation on this topic. Materials and Methods We investigated in libraries as well as on the web for “domestic violence”related articles and Greek court decisions on the matter in question for the last two decades. Access to sensitive data was obtained by every governmental body involved in our study. Results Before of the implementation of the proper legislation, no clear conceptual framework existed. We have to mention that the Greek law has become more specialized and sociallyorientated, aiming mostly at the cure of the revealed cases, rather than the punishment itself. Conclusion The issue of violence against women is very important and requires the participation of both the State, as well as the non-governmental non-profit organizations. Introduction The term of domestic violence is defined as violence in any form, whether it regards physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, gendered violence, emotional abuse (verbal), economic exploitation and trafficking. The complex nature of domestic violence, the various different interpretations of the phenomenon, the lack of sufficient recognition of the severity and several other factors led to the formation of stereotypes and the perpetuation of them, and as a result confusion about the nature and characteristics of the abuse within or outside the family1,2. The aim of this review was to discuss the history of actions as well as the evolution of legislation in Greece for domestic violence. Historical background Domestic violence is a very old phenomenon regarding its origins, while on the contrary, very recent as far as its social identification concerns. Social recognition of the phenomenon, its accession into the European agenda, the role of nongovernmental organizations as parts of the mechanism of influence and pressure and the feminist movement led to adoption of practices towards integration of the principle of equality in all EU policies. In particular, within the United Nations, one may identify International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UNIFEM), Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which in collaboration with the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) of the United Nations focus both on an effort to minimize the phenomenon and also to empower position of women in society3,4. The first draft of the Declaration of Violence against Women was constructed in 1992 and ratified in 1993. According to the United Nations any form of violence and circumvention of human rights, especially against women is condemned. Specifically in the article 1, the term violence against women means any act of violence based on gender and the article 2 includes physical or sexual violence within the family, rape within marriage as well as physical, sexual or emotional violence perpetrated or overlooked by the State in general5. At the same year, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in accordance with the recommendation 19, condemned violence against women as the General Assembly of the United Nations in Vienna adopted the Declaration regarding the Elimination of Violence against Women6. In 1994, by decision of the Commission on Human Rights, specific measures to eliminate violence at national and international level were adopted through the causes and the consequences thereof, as well as the collection and analysis of data regarding to violence. The signalling that violence is no longer a private matter was established by the institution of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on Violence against Women. According to article 4 of the UN Convention, the submission of national reports on government actions regarding the implementation of gender equality is *Corresponding author Email: kumusidi@doctors.org.uk 1 Family Planning Unit, 2nd Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Athens, Aretaieion Hospital, Greece.