Government to extends coverage of ‘Panic Button’ app for domestic violence victims

Greece’s government announced on Monday that the “Panic Button” app will be provided to all adult victims of domestic violence of both sexes across the country. 

Until now, the “Panic Button” mobile app has been provided by police stations as well as by the advisory centers of the General Secretariat for Equality and Human Rights, only to female victims of domestic violence residing in Athens and Thessaloniki. 

Since March 2023, the app has allowed domestic violence victims to discreetly notify the police of their abuse, undetected by their abuser.

The extension of the coverage of the app was published in a Joint Ministerial Decision on Monday.

The Minister of Citizens Protection, Michalis Chrysochoidis, stated that “extending the coverage of the ‘Panic Button’ application across the country, was one of our first priorities to enhance the citizens’ protection and deal with instances of domestic violence.” 

The measure comes at a time when Greece has witnessed a series of serious domestic violence incidents, with some of them even resulting in deaths. Just last week, a woman was murdered in the Menidi area of Athens by her ex-husband.