In recent years in Greece, two women are killed by someone they know each month, usually a spouse or partner.
The latest victim was a 28-year-old woman, whose murder has a particularity: she was stabbed to death by her 39-year-old ex-boyfriend outside a police station, in the presence of a police officer who was on duty outside the station.
This demonstrates how unprotected a woman can be, despite all the talk about awareness and action mechanisms.
According to reports from Greek media, the young woman had separated from her murderer in 2020, reporting him to the police for abuse and rape, but her report had no result.
Recently, she had seen him lurking outside her house, as well as on the fatal night.
Upon returning home, she found him there, and when she tried to report him at the local police station and asked for an escort to return home, she was informed that there were no patrol cars available and she should call the immediate response unit.
While she was at the police station, she went outside to call the police.
One department here, another there. One cannot interfere with the duties of the other. And as she was calling the immediate response unit, she was murdered in plain hearing distance.
And now an investigation has been ordered.
Before it is completed, the police have stated: they suggested to the young woman to wait inside, but she wanted to go out to call the other police department.
“Furthermore,” as a police statement mentions, “since 2023, victims have access to a special police application for immediate and timely notification with geolocation capabilities (Panic Button).”
In other words, if the young woman had pressed the panic button, the response would have been more immediate than being inside the police station, facing a police officer, trembling with fear, describing the situation.
The new femicide, as well as the reaction of the police, shows how unprotected a woman who reports violence is.
She can take all the steps she’s told to take, but she’s still to blame because there was something else she didn’t do: she didn’t go to the right department, she didn’t press the right button…
Obviously, despite so many femicides, she is not easily believed. The danger is not perceived by people who haven’t experienced similar situations, who haven’t been in the position of a woman who is afraid to even go home.
Every time something like this happens, we wish – at the very least – to become wiser.
