Workplace bullying

A Thessaloniki court has attributed the suicide of a 41-year-old mentally disabled employee of a municipally-run enterprise in Oraiokastro to workplace bullying, in a landmark and rare decision.

The 69-year-old man who was arrested after a complaint that he had sexually harassed and insulted five underage girls inside a city bus was found guilty of insulting sexual dignity by a court in Thessaloniki in northern Greece on Monday.

The increase in violence and bullying at Greek schools is not and should not be treated as a public order issue.

Educators should have the tools to mobilize the school community and social services when they see a student showing problematic behavior, before the problem reaches the police. 

Schools themselves need to be strengthened to control the bullying epidemic.

Six out of 10 people that are reported for incidents of violence and harassment in the workplace are employers or persons exercising managerial authority or representing the employer, according to the results of the annual report of the relevant Labor Inspectorate department that monitors violence and harassment at work.

Women march to protest against sexual harassment in Geneva, Switzerland, 07 May 2022. EPA-EFE/SALVATORE DI NOLFI

Greece's Medical Association (PIS) has proposed measures to protect doctors and healthcare professionals from workplace violence, which grew during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The proposals were submitted to the Health Ministry ahead of March 12, which is European Day to Fight Violence against Doctors and Health Professionals. 

Aleksi was accused of multiple rapes and sexual harassment of female students at his school.
It is expected that at today's hearing, the questioning of one of the injured parties, which began at the previous hearing, will be continued. Aleksi was met in front of the Palace building, as in the previous hearings, by activists with a banner reading "We believe in Milena Radulovi".

A high school teacher in the western port city of Patra is under investigation for allegedly sexually harassing a 17-year-old student. 

Whistleblowers in the public and private sectors in Slovenia will enjoy better protection under a bill passed by the National Assembly on 27 January. The law sets down avenues to report breaches of legislation and includes a ban on retaliation and an obligation to protect a whistleblower's identity.

Illustration: Unsplash.com / The Climate Reality Project

Many artists and athletes have since spoken out about their own stories of abuse. Male and female journalists have called on female colleagues to speak openly about sexual harassment and assault in the workplace. The Journalists' Unions of the Athens Daily Newspaper also encouraged its members to speak out.