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Since the crisis struck, Greeks, especially children, have been suffering from worsening living conditions. They are facing more and more difficulties \u2013 such as being abandoned \u2013 due to rising poverty levels.\u00a0 Children from ethnic minorities are not only the targets of discrimination<\/a>, but are also the victims of human trafficking of a sexual or commercial nature. For a European Union (EU) country, the current status of Greek children is disturbing.<\/p>\n Poverty<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Compared with other EU countries, the number of children living in poverty is high. In 2007, 9.7% of children aged between 0 and 17 lived in households where income was 40% lower than the national average.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, 19.7% of children live in households unable to cater to their basic needs.<\/p>\n A study from 2008 underlined the fact that poverty <\/a>mainly affected children through unemployed parents, lack of education <\/a>and large family size.<\/p>\n The Right to Education<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n In Greece, state education <\/a>is free from primary school to university. It\u2019s also compulsory between the ages of 6 and 15.<\/p>\n The Right to Health<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Anybody living legally in Greece has a right to health <\/a>care. Therefore anybody who can prove his or her resident status can access health care.<\/p>\n According to M\u00e9decins du Monde, the situation is worsening. The organisation has started distributing enriched nutritional products to some children; the most vulnerable families can no longer cope. People are even going directly to the NGO headquarters for free checkups and the situation is becoming difficult for the organisation to manage.<\/p>\n AIDs<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n According to the Hellenic Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (a public health organisation, financed by the Ministry of Health) the number of children with HIV\/AIDs<\/a> is low. However, mother-to-child transmissions have been diagnosed as a consequence of nationwide deficiencies in screening pregnant women. Child Abuse<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n However, Greek law does forbid violence towards children at school and at home. All the same, this does not prevent 60% of Greek parents inflicting corporal punishment <\/a>on their children. In the eyes of the law, use of corporal punishment as a disciplinary procedure constitutes an abuse of parental authority and the perpetrators should be jailed.<\/p>\n Prevention programmes, as well as programmes for victims of abuse<\/a>, have been set up to improve the situation.<\/p>\n In Greece some children are also victims of sexual abuse<\/a>, which can include abuse from the child\u2019s own family. This situation is particularly alarming since Greece has recently decided to consider paedophilia as a handicap.<\/p>\n Child Labour<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The Greek constitution prohibits forced labour<\/a> in a general way. In Greece, the minimum work age is 15, or as low as 12 for work in a family business.<\/p>\n Many children are forced to work<\/a> to help their families make ends meet. Some parents even send their children to beg on the streets. In Greece, unfortunately, such activities aren\u2019t punishable by law despite the Greek ratification of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention.<\/p>\n The government and many NGOs believe that the majority of children begging in the streets are made up of Rom or Albanian victims of trafficking<\/a>.<\/p>\n Greece has become a transit country, as well as a destination for a large number of migrants, leading to an increase in all sorts of trafficking as well as prostitution <\/a>and child pornography<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Greece, most street children<\/a> are victims of trafficking<\/a>. Many of them come from the Rom and Albanian communities. They do not go to school, but spend their days in the streets, restaurants and hotels, begging, stealing, washing windscreens or selling trinkets in the hope of earning money for the traffickers who brought them to Greece.<\/p>\n Traffickers were quick to realise that importing children was both easy and profitable. Today, child trafficking<\/a> for commercial reasons has greatly expanded. Many young girls are victims of trafficking <\/a>for the sex trade<\/a>. Frequently, young, female, illegal immigrants are forced to work as prostitutes <\/a>or face being reported to the authorities and deported.<\/p>\n Displaced Children<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Greece is a migratory pole because of its geographical position. Therefore, each passing year sees the arrival of many new immigrants, including children who, for the most part, fled their own countries in search of a better life.<\/p>\n A large number of unaccompanied minors<\/a>, from counties such as Albania, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan etc., are present in Greece.<\/p>\n In December 2010, 120 non-accompanied migrant children were amongst the 450 detainees at the Fylakio-Kyprinou detention centre, according to Human Rights Watch. They had already spent weeks, or even months, in the centre and were detained side by side with adults, who shared even their mattresses.<\/p>\n Although Greece is meant to protect minors, and only detain them as a last resort, too many children are deprived of their freedom in horrific conditions.This is in spite of a legal obligation for the authorities to treat anybody on Greek soil in a humane way, regardless of their legal status.<\/p>\n Abandoned Children<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Because of the current crisis, cases of children being abandoned <\/a>have greatly increased in the last few months.<\/p>\n Many adults have lost their jobs and found themselves financially unable to take care of their children. Some parents leave them at school and never come to pick them up; others accompany them to centres originally destined for underage victims of abuse<\/a>.<\/p>\n Today, about half the requests for admission come from very poor <\/a>parents who would rather give up their children than see them destitute.<\/p>\n Children from Ethnic Minorities<\/strong><\/p>\n Ethnic minority children are often the target of discrimination<\/a>. In Greece, Roms face a number of difficulties where jobs, public services, education <\/a>and access to housing are concerned.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, communicating information about contraception and health <\/a>practices is often complicated for children of ethnic minorities. These children\u2019s parents also have trouble with birth registrations, meaning that, most of the time, the children don\u2019t have birth certificates<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Children of Greece Realizing Children’s Rights in Greece Since the crisis struck, Greeks, especially children, have been suffering from worsening living conditions. They are facing more and more difficulties \u2013 such as being abandoned \u2013 due to rising poverty levels.\u00a0 Children from ethnic minorities are not only the targets of discrimination, but are also the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6843","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nMain problems faced by children in Greece:<\/h3>\n
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The financial crisis in Greece is progressively transforming into a social crisis, leading to a rise in the country\u2019s poverty <\/a>levels.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/education-\u00a9-teacherdudesbbq.jpg\" "\\"In")
The existence of many ethnic minorities means that \u201cintercultural schools\u201d exist for children with a minority background; those who are immigrants or who were born to a mixed marriage. These schools\u2019 aim is to raise awareness amongst students of their own culture and values, and thus introduce them to the whole panorama of traditions present in Greek society. The idea is to facilitate the integration of immigrant children while preserving the language and culture of their parents. Unfortunately, in real life, their main mission seems to be teaching Greek language and culture instead.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/sante-\u00a9-greekadman.jpg\" "\\"Acc\u00e8s")
However, the health <\/a>sector has been particularly badly hit by the crisis. Patients must pay a fixed price of 5\u20ac for every hospital visit. Doctors frequently ask their patients to buy their own plasters, needles and bandages as the hospitals are out of stock.<\/p>\n
\nSystematic AIDs tests are now carried out on pregnant women to prevent mother-to-child transmission.<\/p>\nPhysical Abuse<\/h4>\n
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There are no national statistics on child abuse<\/a> in Greece, mainly because the authorities are not obliged to report cases.<\/p>\nSexual Abuse<\/a><\/h4>\n
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Child Trafficking<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nChild Trafficking with Commercial Aims<\/h4>\n
\nWorse still, some parents are ready to sell their children, or rent them out to traffickers for a monthly payment.<\/p>\nChild Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation<\/h4>\n
Unaccompanied Minors<\/h4>\n
Child Detainees<\/h4>\n
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Unaccompaniedchildren are often detained in inhuman conditions. In Greece, detention centres are overpopulated, meaning women and children are crowded together in the same cells as men. Hygiene conditions are equally deplorable \u2013 to the point that they pose a danger to the detainees\u2019 health<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.humanium.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/minorites-\u00a9-chrisjohnbeckett.jpg\" "\\"Children")
Greece is populated by a host of ethnic minorities: Turks (including Turks, Pomaks and Roms), Bulgarians, Armenians, Albanians (including Arvanites and Albanoi) and Macedonians.<\/p>\n