The Hellenic Refugee Council estimates that there are about 10.000 refugees-victims of torture in Greece. According to Greek and international surveys, the average of victims of torture is 20 to 30% of asylum seekers, so "if this percentage is valid, then the victims of torture in Greece amount to about 10.000 ".
According to the Athenian News Agency, at the same time, there are no official figures for the number of victims of torture in Greece. "Separate statistics are not kept per category of vulnerable, except for unaccompanied children. The main reason is that the responsibilities of two services are intertwined, the First Reception Service and the Asylum Service and this is a problem, not only of the Greek authorities, but also at a pan-European level "pointed out the former Secretary General of the Ministry of Immigration Policy and legal service coordinator of ESP, Vassilis Papadopoulos.
However, in Greece, the characterization of an applicant as vulnerable, added Mr. Papadopoulos, "is more important, because it leads to the individual leaving the process of rapid examination of requests (the process of admissibility-inadmissibility)."
In addition, the recent decision of the Council of State to declare Turkey a safe country for the Syrians, which "opens the way for mass and systematic rejection of Syrian asylum applications, including victims of torture" explained Mr. Papadopoulos. According to data cited by him, as of August 30, 2017, 1.759 Syrians had filed appeals against primary decisions of the Asylum Service and which are expected to be heard.
Mr. Papadopoulos also expressed the organization's concern about the increased detention "which we do not know if it will be combined with this decision" at a time when "the small increase in flows in the Aegean mainly concerns refugees from Syria and Iraq." The above was mentioned during today's press conference, where the results of the "Time for needs: Listening, Healing, Protecting" program were presented.
The program, which started in December 2015 and will be completed in the coming days, was implemented with funding from the European Commission, from organizations in Greece, Italy, Germany, France, Malta, Portugal and Belgium. In Greece, the Hellenic Refugee Council was responsible for its implementation, while the participants also include the European Council for Refugees and Exiles (ECRE).
Its aim was, through an interdisciplinary team, including lawyers, social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists, to exchange knowledge on legislation and good practice in specific countries regarding the identification and hospitality of victims of torture.
The program implemented jointly by the Babel Day Center, Médecins Sans Frontières and the Hellenic Refugee Council for the medical, psychological and legal support of victims of torture was recognized as one of the good practices.
The program was also about promoting common criteria and methods for assessing the vulnerability of individuals and improving the level of procedural guarantees and personalized services provided to these individuals. Finally, the creation of an evaluation tool for professionals dealing with victims of torture is included.
As pointed out by the psychologist of ESP, Ioanna Katsogiannou, the appropriate support of the victims starts with their timely identification, but the lack of specialized personnel and the increased flows make this identification difficult. The protection of victims through the creation of a safe living environment is also made more difficult by the accommodation conditions in the reception centers. "There are cases of victims living in the same area with members of the opposite group who could be potential perpetrators in their own country," she added.
Source: Newsbeast.gr