From the investigative team: Six months ago, The Manifold, a team of five journalists in Greece and Cyprus, started looking into the failings of the two states in providing proper support for children who have suffered some form of abuse. The investigation went deeper into cases that made the news in both countries and traced the institutional faults that put the children involved in harm’s way or prolonged their abuse.
Through a thorough mapping of the maze of services involved with child protection, a study of the legal framework, and a collection of testimonies from experts, policymakers and survivors, a pattern of mismanagement, serious negligence, and structural deficiencies is revealed. Abusive children’s institutions, a lack of training, harsh treatment by judicial authorities and the police, and inadequate and disorganized social services are some of the problems that bear heavily on abused children. Lastly, the question is asked whether the current attempts to introduce a coherent child protection system are likely to succeed – and the findings are hopeful for Cyprus, but not exactly auspicious for Greece.
Published stories:
- Τα παιδιά και το κράτος – Μέρος Α΄: Αυτοί που δεν ήξεραν (Dimosiografia, Dec. 22, 2018)
- Τα παιδιά και το κράτος – Μέρος Β΄: Εδώ είναι Ελλάδα (Dimosiografia, Dec. 23, 2018)
- Τα παιδιά και το κράτος – Μέρος Γ΄: Η εξιλέωση της Πρόνοιας (Dimosiografia, Dec. 27, 2018)
- Τα παιδιά και το κράτος – Μέρος Δ΄: Όσοι δεν αξίζουν να ζουν με τους ανθρώπους (Dimosiografia, Dec. 28, 2018)
- Greece child protection services ‘disjointed and inadequate’ (Al Jazeera, Dec. 30, 2018)
The information on this page is supplied by the investigative team. The IJ4EU fund partners are not involved in the editorial process of any funded project.