Human Trafficking in [Greece] [other countries]
Street Children in [Greece] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [Greece] [other countries]
 

Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children

Republic of Greece [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

The Republic of Greece [map] occupies the southernmost part of the Balkan Peninsula and is bordered by the Ionian Sea (W), by the Mediterranean Sea (S), by the Aegean Sea (E), by Turkey and Bulgaria (NE), by Macedonia (N), and by Albania (NW). Athens is its capital and largest city. Greece has a capitalist economy with the public sector accounting for about 40% of GDP and with per capita GDP 70% of the leading euro-zone economies. Tourism provides 15% of GDP. Immigrants make up nearly one-fifth of the work force, mainly in menial jobs. Greece is a major beneficiary of EU aid, equal to about 3.3% of annual GDP.

CAUTION:  The following links and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Greece. Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false.  No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

Quick Search for Missing Children - Select Gender, Country (Greece), and Years Missing

Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005

CHILDREN - The law provides for free and compulsory education for a minimum of nine years. According to the 2001 census, 99.4 percent of school‑age children attended school, and most children completed secondary education. However, noncompliance with the compulsory education requirement was a significant problem in the Romani community. Research conducted by the Aghlaia Kyriakou state hospital showed that 63 percent of Romani children did not attend school.

Violence against children occurred, particularly against street children. The law prohibits the mistreatment of children and sets penalties for violators, and the government generally enforced these provisions effectively. According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and local NGOs, the majority of street children (often indigenous Roma or Albanian Roma) were exploited by family members who forced them to work in the streets, usually begging or selling small items.

Concluding Observations Of The Committee On The Rights Of The Child (CRC) - 2002

[72] The Committee is concerned:

(a) At the number of children working and/or living on the street, and the numbers of Roma children in particular;

(b) At the lack of access of these children to education and health services;

(c) That young children illegally in the State party are expelled from the country without a process to examine what action would be in their best interests.

Street children remain a common sight in Greece

Carrying a bag full of lighters, key chains and other trinkets, 11-year-old Marenella walks through the cafe-lined streets of Monastiraki Square in central Athens selling her wares. Rain or shine, Marenella can be seen touting her goods to locals and tourists in the hope of meeting the daily quota enforced by her mother who waits in the shadows nearby.

Two streets away, Iliana, 10, and her younger sister Christina roam from one table to another in a bid to sell flowers and tissues. "I went to school today and I am sent out every afternoon to help bring in money. My sister is always with me and together we help support our younger brothers and sisters," says Iliana.

Children of the Stoplights

In Greece they're called "children of the stoplights" because they hang out at traffic lights selling small packets of tissues or washing windshields for small change. They're not Greek, these children. Greek children are for the most part loved and well-taken care of, members of large, extended families, spoiled and adored.

CRC Concludes Consideration Of Initial Report Of Greece

The delegation said that the situation of street children was a new phenomenon in Greece, and that centers and child-villages had been created to resolve the problem. The centers provided free health, educational and psychological services, including pocket money, until the children finally returned to their families.

Committee On The Rights Of The Child - Summary Record Of The 754th Meeting

[48] It was regrettable that child beggars over 12 years of age were referred to the courts, since it was the whole phenomenon of begging that needed to be addressed. It was also regrettable that street children who had entered Greece illegally were expelled, in flagrant disregard of their best interests.

The Disappearance Of 502 Albanian Street Children

502 Albanian 'street children' have disappeared in Greece from the state managed institution 'Aghia Varvara' between 1998 and 2002.

The Risk Group of Unaccompanied Minor Migrants

In a UNICEF Report (2001), the life story of an 11-year-old Albanian boy, begging on the streets of Thessaloniki, is told. It is said that he had been begging on the streets of Thessaloniki since the age of five. According to "Help the Children" in Albania, some 80% of the street children trafficked to Greece were either sexually abused or exploited, with street children over age 8 or 9, especially girls, typically victims of rape, sexual abuse or forced prostitution.

Comments on Greece's Replies to the UN CESCR List of Issues [DOC]

The assertion that the problem of street children is decreasing is puzzling because there appear to be no accurate statistics as to the number of street children in Greece. The Greek state also admitted that The exact number of street children to whom the Minister of Health and Welfare provides protection and social care is not known.

Street Children in Contemporary Greece

[Abstract] Overview of the problem of street children in Greece, within the context of global research on street children, and drawing on preliminary findings from recent research on street children in Athens.

Special Rapporteur Visits Greece

The situation of Roma and Roma children is a concern. I visited a Roma settlement in which housing conditions and sanitation are just not acceptable. Access to health and education is limited or lacking and social programs are not providing assistance to the community. The State should take specific measures to improve the living conditions and the possibilities of development of Roma communities to give to Roma children alternatives other than street work or prostitution as survival strategies for them and their families.

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Human Trafficking in [Greece] [other countries]
Street Children in [Greece] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [Greece] [other countries]