Greek authorities have become aware of systematic and continuous threats and physical abuse against single, unescorted Muslim women, as well as wives in refugee camps on multiple occasions, after complaints from citizens residing near the refugee reception facilities. The complaints concern the treatment of women from their spouses or from other Muslim men. Months after a report in the British Times revealed minors were being mistreated at the hand of men, and women were being forced to wear diapers for fear of being raped in the refugee camps at night, which had resulted in arrests, the problem of abuse against women is resurfacing.
A delegation of the Gender Equality Office of the Association of Regions of Greece headed by Fotini Vryna visited the hotspots of Moria on the island of Mytilene in order to inspect the conditions first hand and focus on the problems. Accompanied by Angeliki Papazoglou, the Head of the Department for Social Protection and Discrimination of the General Secretariat for Gender Equality, as well as the representative of International UNICEF Ada Aggelaki, Mrs. Vryna worked intensively on the situation of women in the camp.
The visit of the delegation, as well as reports conveyed to law enforcement agents, are linked to reports that in Moria, as well as other camps across Greece, women were being viscously treated and subjected to oppression, as an informal type of Sharia law had been imposed by the male population. There have been reports of female beatings, especially during the religious period of Ramadan where absolute obedience is demanded by the women.
According to reports, the situation in the refugee camps of Scaramaga, Moria and Schisto is similar to backward Islamic societies, which Europe may have left behind for years, but are prevalent in the Islamic world in the 21st century.
According to information at the disposal of protothema, recently a woman suffered a public beating by her husband for no apparent reason at the Moria hotspot, with multiple witnesses at hand who did nothing to hinder the culprit, as it is considered something normal.
Similar cases of violence and abuse against women have been reported at the Scaramanga and Schisto camps, with parents fearing to let their daughters walk when the sun sets as they are at risk of being assaulted by men.