Violence

The government has unveiled an ambitious plan to tackle teen violence, aiming to address key issues such as domestic violence, bullying, cyberbullying, and juvenile delinquency. The strategy, developed by a committee of experts, proposes a broad set of measures and involves multiple ministries, including those of Education, Social Cohesion, and Justice.

A 17-year-old has been arrested in connection with an arson attack on a police patrol car in Aetolia, central Greece.

Authorities say the teenager was responsible for setting fire to the vehicle, which was parked outside the Aetolia police directorate.

Following new directives from the chief public prosecutor's office in Istanbul, authorities have initiated a crackdown on unlicensed firearms, leading to the arrest of nearly 80 people.

"Around 97 percent of crimes involving firearms in Türkiye are committed with unlicensed weapons," Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek told daily Milliyet on Oct. 28.

Some 3,500 people have downloaded the panic button app introduced to help victims of domestic violence, according to Social Cohesion and Family Minister Sofia Zacharaki. 

A deputy mayor has been charged with a felony for his alleged role in a devastating wildfire in Xylokastro in southern Greece on September 29 that claimed two lives and scorched 7,100 hectares of forest.

Young people are facing an unprecedented wave of violence and sexual abuse driven by war, climate change, hunger, and displacement, the U.N.'s special representative on violence against children has warned.

Is the rise in violence among minors unprecedented? Clearly not. However, the topic is always intriguing and invites simplistic conclusions. In the past, video games, children of divorced parents, and schools in underprivileged neighborhoods were viewed as the primary causes of violent behavior.

Recent highly publicized episodes of violence among schoolchildren have authorities - government officials, teachers, judges, even the Church - scrambling to deal with the problem and keep it from spreading further.

There is much official talk about more severe penalties and sending parents of violent students to prison.

Criminal defense attorney Apostolos Lytras will be barred from practicing law for the next six months, the Athens Bar Association has decided. The suspension comes in the wake of a domestic violence incident against his wife.

When, truth be told, do we talk to children about violence?