A raft of sex abuse cases in Greece has cast the spotlight on endemic problems in Greek society. Following, Sophia Bekatorou’s rape allegations, the floodgates were opened with high-profile victims coming forth from a number of sectors, including sports, the media and the arts.
The conservative New Democracy has come under fire for its slow response in the case of talented actor/director Dimitris Lignadis, who stepped down from his position as head of the National Theatre amid allegations of paedophilia.
Major opposition Radical Left Coalition SYRIZA party called for Greece’s Culture Minister Lina Mendoni, who handpicked the disgraced actor, to also resign.
Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Thursday that new legislation would be introduced in Greece, tightening sex abuse laws to help victims.
“We should all adopt a common line on how to address the essence of sexual abuse,” Mr Mitsotakis said during the debate in Parliament.
He said he would endorse stricter penalties for sex offenders following the slew of sex abuse allegations.
“The #MeToo movement started four years ago in America. In Greece, it appeared in 2021. Today the silence has broken and it is the turn of action to break through the inertia,” Mr Mitsotakis said.
Mr Lignadis has dominated much of the spotlight due to the young age of his victims, including many refugees. His celebrity lawyer Alexis Kougias has called for the case to be dismissed because the alleged victims “were Egyptians”, and had earlier said witnesses against his client were “professional homosexuals” with their allegations to be “crude fabrication”.