Mr. Mitsotakis: Zero tolerance for sexual violence against children – 5-year National Plan for the protection of minors

The Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, announced a five-year National Plan for the protection of children from sexual abuse and exploitation, at a special event of the Parliament for the European Day for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse. Mr. Mitsotakis spoke about a national priority and stressed that its basic condition is zero tolerance for sexual violence against children.

The Prime Minister stressed that the specific action plan is holistic, presupposes central organization and broad social acceptance, while it is a broader turn in dealing with critical problems of the time. He insisted that the 11 axes of the plan restructure the existing structures and functions.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis characteristically referred to the National Case Management Protocol, which, as he said, will clearly define the roles of all stakeholders, from judicial and law enforcement authorities to social workers. He spoke about the National Archive for the Registration and Surveillance of Abused Children, which will facilitate action per incident, while preventing the presence of people with a difficult past close to children.

The Prime Minister announced that the obligation of all bodies, public and private, to appoint a person in charge of child protection is established, in order to immediately forward the relevant complaints, but also to be able to take action himself. Mr. Mitsotakis described as necessary, a large information campaign, in order to raise the awareness of adults and children to learn their rights, while he reminded that our legal framework has already been strengthened through the recent changes in the Penal Code, where the specific crimes became crimes, their statute of limitations now begins with the adulthood of the victim and the fact that the rape of a minor now carries a sentence of life imprisonment.

Mr. Mitsotakis stressed that the said action plan will be subordinated to the Minister of State, George Gerapetritis, with the responsible MP, Elena Rapti, who, as he said, has to show rich experience and action in this issue, while he also praised the contribution. of the Deputy Minister of Demographic Policy and Family, Natasa Syregela. He also noted that the specific initiative will be overseen by the national coordinating committee with co-responsible ministry officials and persons with extensive experience in this field. “Democracy asks us to choose the strongest voice over the guilty silence and we do that, especially when the voice that calls us is childish,” concluded the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.