Two victims in just four days. On Tuesday, a 43-year-old woman was shot dead by her husband in the tavern where he worked in Larissa, in the center of the country, four days after a femicide perpetrated near Athens. This new femicide has caused a stir in Greece, which has had seven femicides since the beginning of the year.
Armed with a gun, the victim’s husband, 54, entered the tavern and shot his wife eight times, who died instantly, according to local media. He was immediately arrested, according to the Greek news agency Ana.
Last Friday, a 31-year-old woman was stabbed and killed in Dafni, near Athens, by her 40-year-old husband, who later turned himself in to the police. Neighbors of the victims had reported the violent arguments to the police. Since the beginning of the year, seven femicides have been registered in Greece, a phenomenon that shows the increase in domestic violence in the country, which is not used to reports of these events.
In Greece, “femicide” does not exist in the Penal Code. Domestic violence registered an increase of 4% in 2020 compared to 2019. During the first confinement, calls to the telephone line set up to support women victims of violence (15,900) increased by 230%.
“Femicides are the tip of the iceberg of domestic violence,” Maria Stratigaki, a professor of social policy at the Panteion University in Athens, who specializes in gender equality, told Skaï radio.
The left-wing opposition Syriza called for the resignation of María Syrengela, secretary general for gender equality, who said on Tuesday that these femicides did not mean an increase in the phenomenon and that “Greece was in a better situation than Mexico or Venezuela, where the number of femicides is much higher ”.
“Femicides have existed for years, there is an increase due to confinement,” said María Syrengela, highlighting that “women have recently begun to denounce domestic violence.”
“This is the seventh femicide in seven months, but the government and the police continue without taking measures and without understanding that domestic violence is increasing, especially after months of confinement,” Syriza denounced this Tuesday.