Greece: Engagement on Women's Issues

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TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREF SMIG KWMN KTIP GR
SUBJECT: Greece: Engagement on Women's Issues

REF: 09 STATE 124579


1. (U) This report is a response to reftel information request and
is a joint cable with Consulate General Thessaloniki.




2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Mission Greece closely integrates women's
issues into public diplomacy programming, human rights outreach,
commercial outreach, and partnerships with civil society.
Highlights from the past year at Embassy Athens include a
multifaceted breast cancer awareness-raising program with Susan G.
Komen for the Cure and local NGO partners, advocacy with the Greek
government on behalf of women victims of trafficking in persons
(TIP) and the women leaders of anti-TIP organizations, a speaker
program with African-American women's advocate, journalist, and
author Evelyn C. White, and a series of cross-sector mentoring
events for women in business, government, and civil society led by
the Deputy Chief of Mission. Consulate General Thessaloniki has
consistently sought opportunities to highlight the role of women in
modern societies, and advocate in particular for vulnerable and
marginalized women. In this effort, Consulate staff have partnered
with local government officials, NGOs, professional chambers, as
well as representatives of international organizations.




3. (SBU) SUMMARY CONTINUED. While women's advocates in Greece
report significant progress in women's rights over the last decade,
women in Greece continue to face challenges such as a stigma
against reporting domestic violence and rape, a lack of women's
health awareness, and sexual harassment in the workplace. Muslim
minority women in Thrace suffer discrimination in marriage,
divorce, and inheritance issues under Shari'a law, while Roma women
often lack access to basic services and education, and have high
rates of teenage childbirth. Strong government support of female
TIP victims and asylum seekers is lacking. Despite these
challenges, we see valuable opportunities for increased U.S.
engagement and awareness-raising on women's issues, particularly
with women's health, Roma, immigrants, and victims of domestic
violence or trafficking. Greece has an active, internationally
focused, and committed women's rights community, and an increase in
exchange program opportunities for women's advocates would be
especially valuable. END SUMMARY.



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Women's Issues Outreach in Greece: Highlights

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4. (SBU) The majority of our women's outreach initiatives during
the past year has focused on the challenge areas outlined above. A
list of activities follows:



PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ACTIVITIES:



-- Partnering with Susan G. Komen for the Cure to Raise Awareness
for Breast Cancer: A lack of cancer awareness is a problem in
Greece, and discussion of serious medical problems is traditionally
considered taboo. As part of a multi-day PD initiative to raise
awareness for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer in
Greece, in September 2009 Ambassador Speckhard hosted a reception
in honor of Susan G. Komen for the Cure and its local partners,
Alma Zois (Pan-Hellenic Association of Women with Breast Cancer),
which focuses on prevention, early detection, and counseling, and
the Ormylia Foundation, which provides examinations and treatment
to underprivileged women patients. The next day, these NGOs held
Greece's first ever "Race for the Cure," drawing political and
business leaders, diplomats, and health and community professionals
(including a large group of Embassy participants). Consulate
General Thessaloniki hosted a seminar for local businesspeople
about the Ormylia Foundation's work, and presented an award to the
NGO. RESULTS: This partnership highlighted U.S.-Greece
cooperation on women's health issues, gave a strong boost to breast
cancer awareness-raising efforts, and provided networking and
mentoring opportunities for women's advocates in the medical, NGO,
pharmaceutical, and entertainment sectors.

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-- Consulate-Supported Group Organizes Seminar for Women
Entrepreneurs: In January 2009, the Thessaloniki Consul General
and staff attended a seminar on "Women's Entrepreneurship:
Challenges and Realities", organized by the Consulate-supported
Facebook group "Young Entrepreneurs of Thessaloniki." The event
attracted a number of young women aspiring to be or thinking about
becoming entrepreneurs. RESULTS: The event supported the
educational and professional efforts of young Greek women in areas
that highlight U.S. leadership, such as innovation and
entrepreneurship.



-- Seminar for Women Entrepreneurs: In March 2009, the Thessaloniki
Consul General delivered remarks at a seminar entitled "Leaders of
the New Economy" on Greek women's contributions to entrepreneurship
and corporate social responsibility. The event was organized by a
financial newspaper under the auspices of the Consulate.
Approximately 200 women participants discussed issues of equality,
social norms, and the need for programs to assist women
entrepreneurs. RESULTS: The Consulate's support for the event
highlighted the U.S. commitment to equal opportunity in business
and politics. The seminar, which received positive coverage in
national media, encouraged women to pursue entrepreneurial efforts.



-- Fulbright Alumni Lecture on Women's Immigration: On May 6,
Thessaloniki DPO welcomed a group of 40 Fulbright scholars and a
general audience to a Consulate-hosted lecture by Fulbright scholar
Dr. Triantafillia Kourtoumi on "Contemporary immigration streams in
the town of Thessaloniki: Voices from the archive of the
"invisible" immigrant women." A lively discussion followed.
RESULTS: The event supported Fulbright Alumni Association efforts
to educate, raise awareness and inform local Greeks on current,
interesting and important academic and cultural issues, in this
case, the valuable contributions of immigrant women to local
society.



-- Lecture Series by Evelyn C. White, Biographer and Advocate for
Minority Women's Issues: In February 2009, Embassy Athens and
Consulate Thessaloniki hosted a series of speaking events featuring
renowned journalist and author Evelyn C. White, whose articles and
essays focus on African-American women. Ms. White spoke about her
new book "The Universe Provides: The Biography of Alice Walker."
Two of Ms. White's lectures were held in university settings and
were introduced by key women members of Greece's academic
community, and another event was introduced by Yvette Jarvis, a
former Athens city council member, human trafficking and
immigration activist, and the only African-American woman to serve
public office in Greece. The Embassy also featured Ms. White's
work on mosaiko.org, a website designed specifically to reach out
to Greek youth. RESULTS: The lecture series highlighted and wove
together two strands of U.S. leadership on human rights: minority
rights and women's rights--two key areas that are not often linked
in Greek public awareness campaigns. Ms. White's speaking events
capitalized on strong interest in African-American issues in the
wake of President Obama's election, and provided insight,
perspective, and encouragement to Greek women on education and work
issues.



POLITICAL OUTREACH:




5. (SBU) Over the past several years, a key priority for U.S.
Mission Greece has been to advance the efforts of Greek Roma women
activists. Roma in Greece suffer from a lack of access to basic
municipal and health services, poor educational support, and severe
societal discrimination. Embassy Athens and Consulate General
Thessaloniki have partnered with Roma educators, community
activists, academics, government officials, and social workers, but
with a special focus on Roma women leaders. Here are highlighted
activities:



-- U.S. Mission Recognition for Roma Nominee for Woman of Courage
Award: On March 12, Consulate General Thessaloniki hosted a

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ceremony to honor the Mission's 2009 nominee for the Secretary's
International Women of Courage Award. Ambassador Speckhard
congratulated the nominee, Roma activist Sabiha Suleiman, via live
digital video conference. Thessaloniki DPO presented Ms. Suleiman
with a certificate signed by the Ambassador, recognizing her
efforts to improve pre-primary and after-school educational
opportunities for Roma children in her community. RESULTS: The
event was widely covered by national media, including interviews
and presentations about the nominee and her long-standing
commitment to advancing the cause of the Roma community in Thrace.
DPO spoke to Athens International Radio about the State Department
award for Women of Courage, raising awareness of Roma women's
issues. A documentary filmmaker filmed the award ceremony in order
to use footage in a documentary of Roma life in northern Greece.



-- Roma Activist Nominated for Global Summit for World Leaders: On
December 8-10, the Global Summit for World Leaders "The Courage to
Lead" took place in Geneva, Switzerland. Consulate General
Thessaloniki nominated for the Summit Thalia Kalogirou, Director of
the local NGO Oikokoinonia ("Home Society"). The organization
focuses on Roma supporting Roma communities and plays a leading
role in shaping the government's National Strategy for the Roma in
Greece. RESULTS: Ms. Kalogirou's nomination highlighted U.S.
concern for and human rights leadership on Roma issues,
strengthened the Mission's ties with NGOs active in the field, and
provided a promising activist with additional mentoring and
professional exposure.



-- Consulate Support for Local Roma Women's Associations: In March
and April 2009, Thessaloniki DPO visited two northern Greece Roma
communities. DPO met with the Cultural Association of Women (an
NGO combating illiteracy, poor health, poverty and unemployment
with a special focus on women and children) and with
representatives of the Women's Cultural and Educational
Association, "Elpida" ("Hope"). The discussion focused on language
preparation for young students and strategies for boosting school
attendance among Roma children in the village. The discussion was
followed by a tour of the village and visits to a preschool
facility and reading center sponsored by the Association. RESULTS:
The visits took place during the same time period as
Consulate-sponsored events marking International Roma Day, and
stressed USG interest in the Roma community and highlighted the
role of Roma women's organizations struggling for change in a
male-dominated environment.




6. (SBU) Combating trafficking in persons (TIP) is an important
objective for U.S. Mission Greece. Embassy Athens and Consulate
General Thessaloniki have focused efforts on NGO support and
training, advocacy for policy improvements by the government, law
enforcement training, awareness-raising, and support for victims of
both sex and labor trafficking. Greece has approximately a dozen
organizations with a focus on TIP issues and many of these NGOs are
run by women activists--some of whom were leading members of
Greece's women's rights movement a decade ago. Currently, law
enforcement and NGO activities focus on sex trafficking, where the
victims are predominately women and children. Mission Greece
activities to support the fight against TIP, with a focus on
women's issues, include the following:



-- Ambassador's TIP NGO Roundtable, TIP NGO Engagement: In January
2009, Ambassador Speckhard hosted a dozen NGO representatives to
discuss a strategy for combating TIP and, in particular, supporting
victims of trafficking. The leaders of NGOs working most directly
with victims were predominately women. Several weeks later, the
Ambassador was the surprise guest of honor at the ten-year
anniversary celebration of faith-based anti-TIP NGO Nea Zoi ("New
Life"),an organization where predominately female volunteers reach
out directly to sex workers and trafficking victims on the street.
RESULT: The Ambassador's roundtable and follow-up meetings showed
the U.S. commitment to supporting anti-trafficking NGOs and also
provided a wealth of information about conditions for traffickers
and their victims in Greece. The roundtable led to follow-up
meetings with both NGOs and high-level government officials on
improving counseling, legal support, and identification of women
trafficking victims. Soon thereafter, then-Foreign Minister Dora
Bakoyiannis committed publicly to making combating TIP a priority
of Greece's human rights strategy during its 2009 chairmanship of
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

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-- Partnering with G/TIP on Anti-TIP Strategy for Greece: In
October 2008, Embassy Athens and Consulate General Thessaloniki
organized roundtable events with two representatives from the State
Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
(G/TIP). The program included police representatives, prosecutors,
NGO representatives, academics, and students and focused on the
status of anti-TIP efforts in Greece and the United States.
Following the Thessaloniki roundtable, participants viewed the
State Department-sponsored video "Dreams Die Hard: Survivors of
Slavery in America Tell their Stories." RESULTS: The anti-TIP
roundtables raised public awareness about the need to fight
trafficking and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to assisting Greek
authorities and NGOs. The G/TIP visitors provided valuable
expertise on how Greece can improve its efforts to solve the
problem of modern-day slavery.



-- Support to Threatened TIP Victim during Court Trial: The
Embassy Athens Human Rights Officer provided moral support and
showed U.S. solidarity with threatened TIP victims during an
appeals trial for a convicted sex trafficker--a notorious club
owner who police, NGOs, and media insiders said had threatened the
NGO women leaders and the female trafficking victim who were
testifying against him. Over the course of several weeks and
during the trial, TIP NGO contacts of the Embassy received constant
telephone threats and other intimidation. RESULTS: An Embassy
officer's mere presence at the court during a routine trial day
provided a crucial emotional and psychological boost to the NGO and
the trafficking victim, and displayed clear U.S. support of
organizations seeking to combat human trafficking.



-- Active U.S. Leadership in Anti-Trafficking Training Seminars:
Officers from both Embassy Athens and Consulate General
Thessaloniki attended, presented at, and helped lead over a dozen
different anti-trafficking training events throughout the country
during 2009. Embassy officers gave presentations at specialized
training events for victim identification for health workers and
NGOs, attended labor inspectorate and union conferences on labor
trafficking, and supported novel training initiatives for
prosecutors and judges to promote awareness about Greece's 2002
anti-trafficking law. Consulate General officers spoke at law
enforcement conferences, including the November 2008 "Trans-border
Crime in the Balkans" meeting, to urge law enforcement officials
and prosecutors from neighboring states to work together more
effectively to fight narcotics, human trafficking, illegal
immigration and other forms of transnational crime. In April 2009,
the Thessaloniki Consul General addressed over 300 Greek judges,
prosecutors and government officials, including the Minister of
Justice, at the "Trafficking in Human Beings and Electronic Crime"
conference organized by the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
the Hellenic Association of Judges and Prosecutors and the Greek
Mission of IOM in northern Greece. The CG stressed the importance
of global cooperation against trafficking as well as the crucial
role of judges, and also gave several press interviews after his
address, including with national television station ET-3. RESULTS:
The presence and leadership of Mission Greece officers at multiple
anti-TIP events demonstrated the strong U.S. interest in
cooperating with Greek government and civil society in combating
TIP. In addition, the remarks reached key audiences and high-level
officials, including the Deputy Minister of the Interior, Supreme
Court justices, the Deputy Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, as well
as police and legal officials from over six different Balkans
countries. In these training sessions, women judges and
prosecutors often played the lead role in raising awareness about
TIP issues.



-- 2009 Trafficking in Persons Hero Reception: In July 2009,
Ambassador Speckhard hosted an award reception for Major George
Vanikiotis, a 2009 G/TIP Trafficking in Persons Report Hero. The
Embassy designed the event to address an important need for Greek
anti-TIP NGOs and members of civil society to meet high-level law
enforcement officers and government policymakers face to face.
RESULTS: The reception offered predominately male law enforcement
and government leaders the opportunity to interface with NGO and
academic representatives, who were predominately female. We noted
many lively discussions on anti-TIP strategy and policy during the
event. The event also cemented the U.S. position as a leader on
anti-trafficking advocacy, and provided an opportunity to instill

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TIP awareness into mid- and high-level police officers. Just
months after the reception, one of the police leaders who helped
preside over the event was named the new Chief of Police for all of
Greece.



-- Consulate Honors Anti-TIP Activist Woman of Courage: In March
2008, Consulate General Thessaloniki honored Prosecutor Irene
Chrysogianni as U.S. Mission Greece's nominee for the Secretary's
2008 International Women of Courage Award. The Consul General
presented the Prosecutor with a certificate signed by Ambassador
Speckhard and spoke about the importance of recognizing women
around the world fighting for equality and human rights. A local
university professor gave a lecture on the problem of violence
against women and detailed Chrysogianni's contributions to the
fight against human trafficking in northern Greece. RESULTS: The
event highlighted International Women's History Month and the
Secretary's Women of Courage Award. It received positive media
coverage, including on national TV, and strengthened ties between
the Consulate General and local judicial authorities, who seldom
receive public recognition for their work.



MENTORING INITIATIVES:




6. (SBU) Throughout the year, the Deputy Chief of Mission hosted
and participated in a series of mentoring and networking events for
women professionals from a variety of fields--business, government,
the Embassy community, and the diplomatic corps. Several events
were held in partnership with key local organizations, such as the
Hellenic-American Chamber of Commerce, while other "in-house"
mentoring initiatives focused on women in the Embassy community and
female diplomats stationed in Greece. RESULTS: These initiatives
provided professional women living in Greece an important
opportunity to network and collaborate on women's issues in the
workplace.



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Best Practices

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7. (U) In general, we found that events that a) targeted a
specific gap area for women's issues here in-country, and b)
brought together participants from a variety of fields and sectors,
were the most successful. In particular, we found that initiatives
that brought together entities not naturally inclined to work
together or see eye-to-eye all the time--such as Greek law
enforcement and NGOs for TIP victims, or Roma women's organizations
and government officials--provided valuable opportunities for
dialogue and coalition-building.




8. (U) One key factor to success in tackling women's issues as
disparate as trafficking in persons, Roma discrimination, and
women's health issues, is the importance of patient and consistent
relationship-building. With Roma women's groups, Consulate General
Thessaloniki spent significant time and energy forging and
maintaining relationships with women's organizations spread across
far-flung Roma camps in northern Greece. Embassy Athens officials
met anti-TIP NGOs over 25 times in 2009 and as a result enjoy a
strong relationship of trust with NGO representatives across the
board. These relationships, in turn, allow us to plan robust
public awareness events and campaigns and facilitate our efforts to
strengthen bridges between civil society and government.



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Women's Issues in Greece: Challenges and Opportunities

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9. (SBU) A change of government in October 2009 brought to power
PASOK (Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement),a party traditionally
considered to be a strong advocate for women's rights and civil
society initiatives. Embassy Athens and Consulate General
Thessaloniki plan to harness this new momentum and political
climate to tackle gap/challenge areas for women's issues in Greece.
In general, we want to continue to take advantage of U.S. exchange
programs for civil society representatives, as well as fully
utilize public diplomacy resources for women's issues in our
upcoming programming. The following are areas where we see
specific gaps in women's rights in Greece, but also where we see
opportunities for additional U.S. engagement and resources:



-- Law Enforcement, Rape and Domestic Violence Cases: While
women's rights activists report improvement in police procedures,
counseling, and NGO referrals systems in rape and domestic abuse
cases (particularly in urban areas) over the last decade, many
police stations, especially smaller units in rural areas, lack
personnel trained to handle such cases sensitively. We continue to
receive reports of pressure on rape and domestic abuse victims not
to report or press charges--pressure from both the police, as well
as from Greek society at large. According to a 2006 academic
study, approximately 4,500 rapes occurred in Greece, while during
that year only 270--or 6 percent of the academic estimate--were
reported to the police. The government estimates that only 6 to 10
percent of domestic violence cases are reported to the police.
OPPORTUNITY: Training, exchange program resources, and/or an
expert speaker program for government, academic, and civil society
stakeholders on these issues would be invaluable. Many experts
from local anti-trafficking organizations also specialize in
domestic violence issues, and we plan to partner with them more
closely on issues of domestic abuse.



-- Thrace Muslim Minority Women and Shari'a Law: The government
recognizes Shari'a (Islamic religious law) as the law regulating
family and civic issues of the Muslim minority in Thrace. Members
of the Muslim minority can choose whether to marry under Greek
civil law or by a government-appointed mufti; in the latter case,
their marriage is subject to Shari'a family law. Many NGOs and
media reports characterized Shari'a law as discriminatory against
women, especially in child custody, divorce, or inheritance cases,
where women do not receive the equal consideration or benefits that
men do. In the last two years, several women from the Muslim
minority have appealed Shari'a decisions to Greek appeals courts
and won their cases, but some members of the Muslim minority report
strong social pressure to adhere to Shari'a family law and mufti
decisions. OPPORTUNITY: Women's issues for the established Muslim
minority in Thrace are of particular interest not only from a human
rights perspective, but also because Greece is the only western
country to have institutionalized Shari'a family law. Minority
issues in Thrace are very sensitive politically, and we will engage
carefully and more closely with Muslim women and women's rights
organizations to facilitate exchange program candidates and
opportunities for women's education.



-- Muslim Migrant Women's Issues: Immigrant Muslim women are a
completely separate population from the Muslim minority in Thrace,
and face a different set of challenges. While the majority of
recent migrants (many of them illegal) from Muslim-majority
countries to Greece are men, an increasing number of families are
coming to Greece. Refugee NGOs report anecdotally that Afghan and
Iraqi women, in particular, are accompanying their husbands to
Greece in increasing numbers. While Embassy Athens and Consulate
General Thessaloniki have good relationships with immigrant
associations, many of these organizations tend to be dominated by
men. Reports from other western European countries experiencing
similar immigration trends suggest that new Muslim women migrants
face challenges in social integration, education, language
learning, freedom to work, and in balancing religious/cultural
traditions and the norms of their new host country. OPPORTUNITY:
As Greece's Muslim migrant community is relatively new, we plan to
coordinate more closely with other posts in Europe that have more
longstanding Muslim communities to learn from their experiences
with women's issues outreach. Embassy Athens has established new
relationships with government agencies and NGOs working on migrant
integration, and the new PASOK government is particularly active on
this issue. We would particularly appreciate any resources or best
practices from Washington or other posts on strategies to engage
Muslim migrant women.

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-- Law Enforcement Training on Identifying TIP Victims: Embassy
Athens and Consulate General Thessaloniki have been actively
involved in hosting and participating in anti-trafficking training
for a variety of Greek government and civil society partners. U.S.
agencies such as DHS/ICE regularly conduct training for Greek
police on trafficking issues. However, Greece's front-line law
enforcement corps, especially the Border Police and Coast Guard,
continue to face challenges in properly identifying and processing
potential women victims of sex trafficking. OPPORTUNITY: Mission
Greece will be seeking additional law enforcement training related
to TIP victim identification. The new, state-of-the-art police
training center in Veria (Northern Greece) may provide
opportunities to offer anti-trafficking training for law
enforcement officers from throughout the southern Balkans.




10. (U) Points of Contact for Women's Issues in Mission Greece:



David Muehlke, POL/Human Rights, U.S. Embassy Athens

muehlkedv@state.gov

+30-210-720-2551



Robert King, DPO, U.S. Consulate General Thessaloniki

kingrd@state.gov

+30-231-024-2905
McCarthy