Greece has been in the spotlight following a spate of accusations over the past two months regarding sexual assaults against both adults and minors.

Public opinion has been riddled with revelations of revenge porn videos, a case of sexual assault of a minor by a priest, an orphanage where child sexual abuse was taking place, the trial of a sailing coach who molested a minor, scandals in the arts, including several femicides.

In its second report on violence against women – released in November, 2021, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women – the General Secretariat for Demographics, Family Policy, and Gender Equality cited 202 incidents of rape reported in 2020. The number appears to have doubled last year, while the report notes that “many victims of sexual abuse do not manage to inform authorities”.

The Greek #MeToo movement has prompted the justice ministry to make a series of changes to the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure.

It involves a series of stricter measures that will be implemented if the bill is passed by Parliament and that will support groups such as minors, citizens from third countries, victims of sexual violence and exploitation, and victims of trafficking, who due to their position and the abuse they have suffered find it impossible to report it with authorities without the help of experts.

HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST EXPOSES INVESTIGATION DELAY ON REPORTED GANG RAPE CASE INVOLVING POWERFUL MEN ON SOCIAL MEDIA

The claim of a young woman allegedly being raped while unconscious by three men at a New Year’s Eve party in Thessaloniki, was the news that heightened public opinion.

The case received a lot of publicity when human rights activist Ilias Gionis, posted the ongoing case on social media in an attempt to raise awareness and push authorities to look into it more seriously. Gionis claimed that a circuit in Greece of the wealthy and well-connected – including reality show performers – wanted to exploit young and vulnerable women who were being scouted on social media.

“Allegations of serious sex crimes have been made public in Greece, which, as reported, involve women being drugged and raped.”

“Once they spot the women they fancy, they send them invites to parties, putting in motion their plans,” said Gionis, adding that a similar organised group operates in Cyprus.

The Financial Mirror reported that officials there will investigate those reports on the request of a lawmaker, Christos Christofides, following reports implicating influential business people with a Cyprus link.

Savvides said: “If and when information and evidence emerge implicating Cyprus in crimes of a sexual nature, investigating authorities will be taking action.”

The intense public outcry has led a Supreme Court prosecutor to begin an even more thorough investigation into the men implicated in the alleged Thessaloniki gang rape. All well-known personalities in Greece, from financially robust families. Exposing the names of the males allegedly involved in the case, caused a wave of influencer and celebrities supporting the men online. Many commentators accused the alleged victim of faking the story to extort the businessmen.

THE STORY OF GEORGIA BIKA, THE WOMAN WHO CHOSE TO GO PUBLIC AND PERSECUTE HER ALLEGED ABUSERS

The woman, who chose to show herself and speak about her story openly on Greek television is Georgia Bika, 24, a resident of a small town in Northern Greece.

Bika, who recently lost her fiancé to cancer, her father to an accident and mother to a heart attack – all within months – had been trying to recover and reclaim her life following the consecutive tragedies.

In having decided to not stay home alone on New Year’s Eve to avoid feeling depressed, she chose to go out with friends and try to have a good time, around other people.

According to her statement, she attended a party held at a luxury hotel after being invited by a friend. She described that a friend, who owns a venue in the city, insisted on her going and that she trusted him given that she had attended other parties thrown by him without ever having been in an unpleasant situation. The alleged victim arrived at the party with two girlfriends.

At the hotel suite where the party took place, were about 25 people, businessmen and women; there was music and drinks. Miss Bika said she had already had some drinks at a gathering she had attended before, and then had three drinks at the suite; two of her own choice, and one that was offered to her.

Not long after, and while she and her friends had already decided to leave the party, Ms Bika started feeling heavily intoxicated. As she did not feel comfortable driving from the city back to her village, and her friends had to go in a different direction, she booked a regular room at the reception to spend the night until she could sober up. She also claimed that she had asked the friend that invited her to the party for assistance as she was disoriented and unable to find her car or collect her thoughts.

On her way to her room, Ms Bika testified that three men from the party approached her in an elevator offering to help her find her room, but instead led her to a different suite. The woman said that she passed out and awoke the next morning with her clothes on the floor, seeing opened suitcases, men’s clothing around her as well as prescription pills used for erectile dysfunction, but was unable to recall the previous night.

Ms Bika, had to call her employer the next morning and ask for help. Her employer arrived with a friend and took the alleged victim to the authorities where she reported that she was raped.

According to her, Police took three days to order a sexual assault forensic examination during which she was not allowed to shower, ordered no blood tests, and only did a urine test more than 24 hours later. The urine sample was then sent to a lab in Switzerland to be tested, something that the woman’s lawyers claimed would affect the result.

THE INVESTIGATION SAGA

Many women’s rights activists took to social media to expose the men and urge authorities to ignore the men’s high social status. Two of the alleged attackers were brothers in the Levendis family that runs the London-based International Foundation for Greece (IFG).

One of the men, aged 27 and related to a wealthy Greek Cypriot-family, sent a statement to Greece’s ANT1 denying her charge, insisting the sexual acts were consensual.

“I feel the need to state, in the most categorical way, that I never committed ‘rape’ against the complainant since the physical contact took place with her total knowledge, awareness and consent,” he added.

Investigators are also looking into claims that a large pimping ring exists in the city that seeks to push young women into prostitution at parties attended by local elites, according to Kathimerini.

Meanwhile, Thessaloniki police and forensic services refuted objections by Georgia Bika regarding the results of toxicological tests. Based on the report published by the authorities, the analysis did not provide enough evidence to support the claim that the alleged victim had been spiked.

The alleged victim is disputing the report. Lawyer Thanasis Ziogas said following the announcement: “It would not have been possible to detect such substances as the sample had been taken more than 18 hours later.”

“Now the real struggle for Georgia begins…,” he added, stating that a team of independent forensics and medical experts have been called to further investigate the process.

The General Police Directorate of Thessaloniki stated that all necessary action prior to the investigation was taken immediately -on the same night- to ascertain the critical evidence, always according to the instructions of the Forensic Medicine Service, specifically head medical examiner Eleni Zangelidou who was the service officer of White Tower Security Department.

However, specific substances being investigated – often used to spike rape victims – can become undetectable in 12 hours or less from the point of consumption.

No arrest has been made and no charges have been laid yet.

Watch Georgia Bika’s interview with journalist Makis Triandafyllopoulos below: