The 2nd Online Meeting of the Network for Combating Gender-Based Violence was a great success.
The network was established on the initiative of the Ladies’ Union of Drama- HOH as part of the “TIME TO TALK II” program. The meeting, in which twelve of the twenty members participated, took place at noon on Wednesday, September 24, 2025, with lawyer and collaborator at the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family Chrysa Papaikovou as the keynote speaker.
Ms. Papaikovou informed participants about issues they encounter in their workplace and do not know how to deal with, she made it clear that efforts are being made to create protocols and a standardised procedure to protect victims and children. She explained that this is a difficult undertaking because there are many parameters that need to be taken into account, but she emphasised that under Law 3500/2006, professional doctors, social workers, psychologists, and educators can report even suspected abuse anonymously. She distinguished the concept of child abduction, saying that when a parent takes their child, goes to the police and reports domestic violence, then the term “abduction” does not apply and the complainant is fully covered and protected. She said that the 15900 helpline works with the Panhellenic Hoteliers Federation (PHF), which has rooms throughout Greece for the temporary accommodation of victims, and highlighted the need for social services to operate in shifts 365 days a year, as most incidents of domestic violence take place on weekends and public holidays, when public services are closed.
Finally, Ms. Papaikovou pledged to put the Drama Bar Association in touch with the Research Center for Equality Issues (KETHI) in order to organize training seminars for doctors, as well as the Xanthi Domestic Violence Department with the 15900 Helpline. Institutional bodies from the prefectures of Drama, Kavala, Xanthi, Rodopi, and Evros participate in the network.

The project “DEVELOPMENT OF PREVENTION AND COMBAT ACTIONS AGAINST GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE – TIME TO TALK II”, implemented by the Ladies Union of Drama– H.O.H., is carried out under the program “Eastern Macedonia and Thrace 2021–2027”, under the priority axis “Social Inclusion and Combating Poverty (ESF+)”. The project is co-financed by the European Social Fund and is part of the Sustainable Urban Development Strategy of the Municipality of Drama.