Better Late than Never: The “Me Too” movement arrives in Greece and Cyprus

Some theorists have located the early roots of feminism in Ancient Greece through the works of the poet Sappho (c. 620-570 BCE). Ironically, modern Greece, a conservative and traditionally religious country with strong patriarchal roots, has fallen behind in the race to gender equality.

Greece in 2020 ranked last in the European Union on the Gender Equality Index. Despite the disappointing scores, a recent development has led to some hope in the sexual harassment trends in the country. In early 2021, Greek Olympic athlete Sofia Bekatorou broke the silence by sharing her story of how at the age of 21 years she was sexually assaulted by a high-ranking Greek sailing official. Bekatorou, who had the honour of carrying the Greek flag at the Rio Olympics in 2016, now holds the honour of instigating a cultural tidal-wave in Greece and contributing to breaking the taboos around sexual assault and harassment.

BEKATOROU AND THE ARRIVAL OF THE “ME TOO” MOVEMENT IN GREECE AND CYPRUS

The “Me Too” movement was originally founded by survivor and activist Tarana Burke in 2006 in order to raise awareness for women who have been abused and sexually assaulted or harassed. The movement gained momentum in 2017 with social media support from actress Alyssa Milano, against the backdrop of the accusations made against well-known filmmaker Harvey Weinstein.

Sofia Bekatorou is one of the best-known Greek female athletes, having won an Olympic gold medal in sailing at the 2004 Athens Olympics and a bronze medal in Beijing in 2008. Early in 2021, Bekatorou made a not-so-shocking revelation at an online event on the protection of children in sport, organized by the Ministry of Culture and Sports. She stated that in 1998, at the age of 21 and while she was preparing for the Sydney Olympics, a high-ranking member of the Hellenic Sailing Federation had sexually assaulted her. Bekatorou recalls that despite her continued cries and asking him to stop, the perpetrator continued assaulting her in his hotel room. Highlighting the non-consensual nature of the act, Bekatorou shared her hope that Greek athletes will now find the courage to speak out about assault, which has been deeply normalised in the Greek sports world. Although Bekatorou did not name the man who sexually assaulted her, later that week, Aristides Adamopoulos, the vice Chairman of the Hellenic Sailing Federation Board, resigned from his position while suggesting that Bekatorou’s claims were "false and defamatory".

In the days following Bekatorou’s accusations, an unprecedented wave of sexual assault and harassment complaints were filed in Greece. The complaints ranged from verbal assaults to rape of underage boys and girls. Athletes, including former sailing champion Marina Psychogyiou, alleged sexual assault in Greek athletics. Actors and actresses also came forward to highlight the sexual assault and harassment culture that is prominent in Greece’s art world, bringing about a number of high-profile resignations and dismissals.

Most notably, Dimitris Lignadis, the artistic director of Greece’s National Theatre and a well-established actor and director, resigned his position on 6 February 2021 following a series of rape allegations. Lignadis, 56, is accused of raping a 14-year-old boy in 2010. Since the initial accusations, many more men came forward to tell their stories of how Lignadis sexually assaulted them while they were teenagers. Alexis Kougias, attorney of the now imprisoned Lignadis, shamefully called Lignadi’s accusers “professional homosexuals.

In another series of accusations, famous actor and politician Pavlos Haikalis was accused by several women of sexual harassment while they were his students at a well-known drama academy in Athens. The women accused Haikalis of constantly sending them sexual messages, calling them, and making sexual advances towards them. Cypriot actress Iliana Aravi recalls that at the age of 17 she was harassed by Haikalis who flirted with her and called her to tell her he was pleasuring himself and asked her to do the same. Since the accusations, Haikalis has issued an “apology” to Aravi stating that he is a “traditional man,” defending his behaviour as the way in which traditional men pursue a woman they are attracted to.

The impact of Greece’s new cultural awakening was soon felt in the conservative island of Cyprus. Cyprus, a small island in the Mediterranean and a Greek-Orthodox state with strong ties to Greece, has for long struggled with patriarchal norms and a culture of silencing victims of sexual assault and harassment. However, since Bekatorou’s declaration, Cypriot athlete Andri Eleftheriou also paved the way for fellow Cypriots to speak up and finally share their stories. Eleftheriou, who is also an Olympic medallist for Cyprus, filed a complaint against an authority figure involved in the Olympics for sexual assault. Since then, the number of complaints have reached double-digits. Survivors launched complaints against senior politicians, doctors, priests, and men in the entertainment industry.

THE EU LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND HARASSMENT

The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence defines sexual harassment as: “any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person, in particular when creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment”. A similar definition was also adopted in the European Union Directive 2002/73/EC on gender equality in the workplace. The European Institute for Gender Equality defines sexual assault as “any sexual act (excluding rape) performed on the victim without consent”.

In recent years, it has been reported that one in every three women (or 38 percent) aged between 18 and 29 experienced at least one form of sexual harassment in the European Union, while 65 percent of women in Greece are reported to have faced sexual harassment at least once in their life.

THE IMPACT OF THE “ME TOO” MOVEMENT IN GREECE AND CYPRUS

In the fallout of the “Me Too” movement, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis publicly voiced his support to the victims by stating that “nobody deserves to live in fear and silence". He further vowed to introduce tougher sentences for sexual abuse and the government promised to revise and improve the current laws on sexual violence. Deputy Labour Minister Maria Syrengela stated that “it’s time we changed mindset, mentality, respected each other, taught our children differently”. She further promised that Greece would ratify the International Labour Organization’s Violence and Harassment Convention.

In Cyprus, Minister of Justice Emily Yioliti has urged all women who faced any kind of sexual violence or harassment to step forward and file formal complaints against their abusers without being scared. She promised that the formal procedures of complaints will be revised and modernised.

In light of these developments, the “Me Too” movement, even though much delayed, has brought hope that the conservative and patriarchal societies of both countries will leave behind the unwanted trends of silencing survivors of sexual abuse, and address the practices that ensure impunity for perpetrators. Two countries that have condoned victim-blaming and taught people to doubt those speaking about their ordeals now have the chance to make up for the shortcomings of the past. By adopting a holistic and a well-structured approach on dealing with sexual assault and harassment cases both legally and culturally, the future may seem brighter than it was before Sofia Bekatorou had the courage to speak out.

Both Greece and Cyprus owe it to the thousands of victims, to their societies, and to the future generations to hold accountable those who believe that such behaviours should be tolerated. Both governments should advocate and teach younger generations to have the courage to speak and stigmatise sexual harassment and assault. Moving in this direction, there is a possibility that both Greece and Cyprus will enter a new era of progress in terms of gender equality and sexual abuse.

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Christina is currently working as a caseworker at the European Asylum Support Office in Cyprus. She is a qualified lawyer/advocate by the Cyprus Bar Association and an LLM holder in International Law from University College London. Her interests include human rights, women's rights, and refugee rights. Christina is also a UN volunteer and aims to develop a career in research and policy reform.

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