A report from MEGA TV reveals that a man from Greece’s central city of Larissa used Greece’s relatively new “panic button” system to alert authorities that he was being abused by his wife.
The incident involving a 43-year old man and his 36-year old wife happened on Sunday afternoon and marks the first time that the panic button has been used by a man in the area.
Late last week, following an incident of alleged abuse by the man’s wife, he reported the incident to local police and they installed the panic system.
The panic button is a physical button that victims of abuse are able to press to alert authorities that they are in danger, and the authorities should quickly come to their aid.
The man used the button just a few days after its installation, this past Sunday afternoon around 15:00, according to reports at MEGA TV.
MEGA TV says that the police have arrested the man’s wife.
About the Panic Button
The concept of a panic button to alert authorities of spousal abuse was proposed by the Greek government, following a spate of horrific violence against women during and after the holiday season this year, which pushed domestic violence and femicide to the front of the domestic policy agenda.
More recently, the murder of a female victim of abuse from her former boyfriend, directly outside of a police station in downtown Athens, brought the insufficient level of protection of victims of abuse by the Greek police again into the spotlight.
The report from MEGA, however, dispels stereotypes around spousal abuse, and also highlights that while the recent use of the panic button by a male in Larissa is a ‘first’ for the town, it is not the first time that a male has used the button in Greece.
The panic button system has also recently been launched for children to help them report cases of bullying, as violence between juveniles in Greece surged this year.
