The Greek government submitted to parliament an amendment for the “panic button”, a digital application allowing victims of domestic violence to immediately and safely inform the police authorities when they are in danger.

According to the explanatory statement of the regulation introduced by the Ministry of Digital Governance, “the purpose of the proposed regulation is the establishment of the “Panic Button” program and the formation of the basic framework of its pilot operation”.

With the proposed arrangement, the beneficiaries are provided for installing the application on their mobile phones, as well as the basic operating conditions of the app.

From the end of the pilot operation, which was set to last for one year in the regions of Attica and Thessaloniki, “an evaluation of the program will follow by the competent services of the Ministries of Labour and Social Affairs and Citizen Protection, in order to utilise the results of the evaluation, for the transition to its universalization”.

The application is used by selecting the relevant indicator on the mobile phone screen. The police are immediately notified by SMS about the threat or danger to the life or physical integrity of the victim. The SMS includes data on the location of the woman so that the police can intervene to protect her.