Meeting of Deputy Ministers of Labor and Justice and Training Seminars to Judges, Prosecutors and Executives on Child-friendly Justice

PRESS RELEASE

Athens, 19 March 2021

Meeting of Deputy Ministers of Labor and Justice and Training Seminars to Judges, Prosecutors and Executives on Child-friendly Justice

On 18 and 19 March 2021 "The Smile of the Child" held online meetings and training seminars addressed to competent actors in collaboration with the National Children's Advocacy Center in the USA.
The training was held as part of the nationwide #meneimystiko.gr Campaign against Child Sexual Abuse, which is under the auspices of H.E. the President of the Greek Republic

As a major priority, the meeting and the seminars highlighted the need for coordination and interdisciplinary cooperation to create a comprehensive framework of friendly justice for children in Greece. Mr. Kevin Mulcahy, U.S. federal prosecutor, generously shared his personal abuse experience to stress the difficult pathway he had to navigate as a 9-year old boy,

"The Smile of the Child" took the initiative to organize a meeting on "Child-friendly Justice" with the participation of the Deputy Ministers of Labor, Justice and specialized scientists from the National Center for Children's Advocacy in the USA in the framework of the ongoing #meneimystiko.gr Campaign, which is under the auspices of H.E. the President of the Greek Republic. A 2-day training seminar followed addressed to Judges, Prosecutors and Security Forces Executives.   

The main instructors of the Seminars are leading experts in the field of Child Protection, namely Mr. Chris Newlin, Executive Director of the American Children's Advocacy Center (NCAC), and Kevin Mulcahy, Federal Prosecutor in the United States.

During the first day and before the beginning of the training seminars, a meeting was held with the participation of the Mrs. Domna Michaelidou, Deputy Minister of Welfare and Social Solidarity, Ms. Maria Syrengela, Deputy Labour Minister for Demographic Policy and Family, and Mr. Athanasios Panagiotou, Office Director of the Deputy Minister of Justice, in replacement of Mr. George Kotsiras, Minister of Justice, who was unable to participate due to an urgent undertaking in the Parliament.

In the exchange of views with Messrs. Newlin and Mulcahy, the Deputy Ministers and Mr. Costas Yiannopoulos, the President of “The Smile of the Child”, commonly ascertained the need for all involved actors to unite forces and create a comprehensive safe framework that will ensure multidisciplinary support for every child who has suffered sexual abuse.

"This initiative is another attempt to reshape the child protection system in Greece based on the principles of Child-friendly Justice. The aim of our actions is to convey the message that Child-friendly Justice is an elaborated mechanism that works effectively in many countries in Europe and around the globe. With the support of the institutions and their armour of knowledge, experience and good practices, we are ready to contribute substantially to the creation of such a mechanism in our country, which will eliminate the case of abused children getting re-victimized during the proceedings. Let's not miss this opportunity again." stated the President of “The Smile of the Child", Mr. Costas Yannopoulos.  Mr. Yannopoulos further expressed his hope that that the mechanism of child-friendly justice will soon be put into operation in Greece and institutions will soon acquire the necessary tools to work efficiently in the direction of child protection.

The Deputy Minister for Welfare and Social Solidarity, Ms. Michaelidou, stressed: "it is very important that we unite our forces for child protection; the state, the society, the institutional bodies. It is a horizontal and national concept, both a national right and a national obligation to ensure child protection. It is critical to enforce a child-friendly justice" the Deputy Minister pointed out, stressing that: "We implement policies, we identify gaps in the procedures and throughout the Justice proceedings and we proceed with corrections".

The Secretary of State for Labor for Demographic Policy and Family, Ms. Syrengela, stressed that cooperation between agencies, experts and parties on child protection issues is necessary, with particular reference to the contribution and the important role of specialists in the implementation of policies. Mrs. Syrengela referred to the network of agencies available to the General Secretariat for demographic, Family Policy and gender equality, to deal with domestic violence, informing that "Children often address to this in order to denounce violence behaviors that either themselves suffered, or were present in violent incidents against their mothers".

Mr. Athanasios Panagiotou stressed that "The strengthening of child-friendly justice was and remains a top priority for the Ministry of Justice. Very soon, in April, the National Action Plan on the Rights of the Child will be presented. The plan includes horizontal actions by all ministries, and highly prioritizes the adaptation of child-friendly Justice ". He also made a special reference to the meeting of the Minister of Justice with the student volunteers of the Children's Rights Group of the Organization "The Smile of the Child".

After the completion of the meeting, the training seminar followed being attended by Judicial and Prosecution Officers from all over Greece, as well as Representatives of the Supreme Court, the honorable Ms. Anna Fotopoulou Ioannou, President of the Supreme Court, and Ms. Georgia Adilini, Deputy Prosecutor.

The second training seminar was attended by more than 270 executives of the Hellenic Police from all regional addresses of the country, while greeting at the beginning addressed the Head of the Hellenice Police, Lieutenant General Michael Karamalakis and Brigadier General Marinos Stagakis, director of Public Security.

The Chief of the Hellenic Police, Lieutenant General, Mr. Karamalakis stressed: "Our goal is the constant protection of all citizens, as well as of socially sensitive groups, while safeguarding their rights. We try to maintain a high professional background so that the Hellenic Police be the consistent support link of all relevant institutions and services aiming at the smooth reintegration of abused children. Through its activities and wide experience, "The Smile of the Child" has succeeded in becoming a "reference point" by providing personalized services to European standards, providing shelter for each and every child. The Hellenic Police is called upon carrying out its work constantly adapting to the new conditions. By nature of our function, it is critical to continuously update and implement the framework in cooperation with institutions for an Integrated Child Protection System. Extra caution is needed in whatever concerns children. We remain alert.»

For all those who attended the training seminars, the generous testimony of the Federal Prosecutor of the USA, Kevin Mulcahy, was breath-taking. He had the bravery to share his harrowing experience and the journey he had to go through to overcome his personal trauma. Mr. Mulcahy highlighted that the lack of appropriate structures and procedures had a rather negative impact on his childhood, when he decided to reveal his personal story. “At the time there were no Advocacy Centers. Now that they exist, they provide a simplified safe path that every abused child and its family can go through, without risking to get psychologically injured again by multiple complex procedures, as was the case in the old days.” He recalled the police officer he first had to talk to, a kind person who was unfortunately not properly trained causing further trauma. “It is very important to train all those involved. There may be a child out there who has to navigate the same difficult path and hopes that someone will rise to the occasion, create the circumstances, devote the time, and stand up to its expectation to provide protection and hope for the future, a safe light out of the dark tunnel. Those involved in child protection should approach the case from a child’s perspective keeping in mind that an abused child may be carrying more than the obvious burden of abuse;  First,  that it let it happen without being able to to stop abuse. Secondly, that it may - even verbally - have probably provided forgiveness to the offender, who in almost all cases is in the inner circle of the child and in a close relationship of trust or even love. Thirdly, that its silence and weakness to reveal the abuse may have caused harm to the next victim of the offender, not having prevented the next incident. Abused children have to carry on with their lives enduring a double loss; besides the abrupt cessation of their childhood’s innocence, they also have to suffer the sudden loss of a beloved close friend or relative who turns into an abuser.”

Mr. Chris Newlin, is the Executive Director of the National Children's Advocacy Center in the USA, a Center that has served as a raw model for the more than 1,000 Children's Advocacy Centers now operating in the USA and in more than 27 countries worldwide. Mr. Newlin shared his valuable experience and wide knowledge, describing the interdisciplinary model that is being implemented with great success in the US for more than 35 years. Children are supported with a holistic approach in the effort to achieve justice without remedying it. “We are excited for our cooperation with The Smile of the Child and the Greek Authorities. Training is the easy part. Coordination and collaboration is the difficult part. As in an orchestra, it is easy to practise instruments at home, but harder to play as part of an team. The process is what really has to be addressed. We are at everyone's disposal to convey our knowledge and experience. It's easy to talk about child-friendly justice, but the realization is quite different. Orchestration, coordination and collaboration of all those involved are critical to getting the cases to court without injuring the child." Mr Newlin said.

"The Smile of the Child" also presented the specialized facility which was created in 2014, designed according to international standards, that was made available to Greek authorities to be used as an Advocacy Center in our country, yet not in operation. The building co-houses "The House of the Child", a Day Center that operates and provides personalized mental health services to children and adolescents, victims of all forms of violence.

Simultaneous translation was provided with the generous support of ACM Translations.