If you have grounds to suspect that a child is being abused, whatever your capacity (e.g. parent, teacher) and whatever your relationship to the child may be (e.g. neighbour, family friend, or even a stranger/witness), you must be vocal about your disapproval and report the abuse. Please remember: this way you become the child’s voice and declare that there will be ‘Zero Tolerance for Child Abuse.’.
To report abuse is to make known specific information to the authorities (the prosecutor’s office or the police), or to child protection services authorized to receive such reports, based on well-founded concerns about a child’s physical or emotional health as a result of suspected abuse or neglect.
A report does not constitute a formal accusation –to report is not to press charges or sue someone– but a preventative action which aims to establish the validity of certain facts so they can be further assessed.
When an educator becomes aware or is informed that one of his students may be the victim of domestic violence, whether he works in a private or state school or even in pre-school institutions,
- He is OBLIGATED to report this to the principal of the school unit.
- The principal in his turn, must IMMEDIATELY report it to either the Prosecutor or to the police (article 23, Law 3500/2006).
- If the principal fails to take further action following the teacher’s report, then the teacher is obligated, both morally and legally, to report the incident to the authorities.
In any case, the educator should not be alone in trying to deal with the situation. He must:
- have the support of the school he works for;
- seek the cooperation of professionals and/or mental health organizations;
- aim to achieve cooperation between the school and the child’s family, if this is at all possible.
Domestic violence can be inflicted not only by the parents of the children, but also by their partners, the children’s siblings, or other relatives.
