Ομιλία στο Συμβούλιο της Ευρώπης & ενημέρωση της επιτροπής Υγείας και κοινωνικών υποθέσεων για την εκδήλωση της 9ης Ιουνίου

Ο κ.Κατρίνης στις 22 Ιουνίου παρουσίασε στο Στρασβούργο στη Συνεδρίαση της Επιτροπής Κοινωνικών Υποθέσεων και Υγείας του Συμβουλίου της Ευρώπης τα πεπραγμένα της εκδήλωσης για τα κακοποιημένα παιδιά που έλαβε χώρα στο Μέγαρο Μουσικής αποσπώντας κολακευτικά σχόλια από την Πρόεδρο της Επιτροπής κυρία PASQUIER MAURY.

On my initiative as Member of the Committee on Social, Health and Family Affairs of PACE an event on children’s protection against sexual abuse and exploitation was organized in Athens with the cooperation of the Greek Delegation to PACE and the Hellenic Institute of Child Health.

The event took place in the framework of the “One in Five” European Campaign of the Council of Europe to stop sexual abuse against children and aimed to inform children, parents and agencies, to sensitize civil society, to activate the existing state structures and strengthen the legislative framework.

The event attended actors in society and the state such as: the Deputy Minister of Education, Parliamentarians, Representatives of municipalities of Attica and the Region of Attica, state agencies and institutions, representatives of NGO, teachers, parents associations and citizens.

The inaugural speech was addressed by the Vice President of the Hellenic Parliament, Ms Rodoula Zissi, on behalf of the President of the Hellenic Parliament, and followed by speeches included mine, of the Minister of Education, Ms Anna Diamantopoulou, of the Deputy Ombudsman on Children’s Rights, of the Secretary General for Transparency and Human Rights of the Ministry of Justice, the Bishop Daniel, the Head of the Electronic Crime Division of the Ministry of Citizen Protection, the President of the NGO “The Smile of the Child”, an Assistant Professor on Forensic Psychology and the Head of the Directorate on Mental Health of the Hellenic Institute for Child Health.

It was noted in all interventions that there is an unsettling rise of this phenomenon, since it is estimated that in the coming years “1 out of 5” children will fall victim to sexual abuse and exploitation and that there is a need to effectively tackle and prevent this.

In particular, the speakers made reference to the problems they face in their own area of competence, calling on the state to establish a national strategy, to co-ordinate the efforts of individuals or institutions, to activate the existing structure and to modernize the legal framework. Furthermore, the civil society should contribute in a decisive manner to the fight against the sexual abuse of children.

During the event social ads by the Council of Europe and the Institute of Health of the Child were shown and information material of the campaign of the Council of Europe was handed out, adapted into Greek. The event concluded with songs by the Children’s Choir of the Municipality of Athens.

In Greece the campaign will be followed by three regional events in 2011 in regions where there are statistically increased incidence or identified specific characteristics.