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Child exploitation

in Greece

The Labour Inspectorate reported 6,100 children as legally working – most of them in food services (40 per cent), accommodation (30 per cent) and retail (8.9 per cent) (2017).
12 enterprises were fined for child labour in 2017.

Enabling Environment

Legislation, policy, resources, coordination, data

Lack of qualitative data on children working legally and children exploited for work purposes.
Vulnerable groups, such as refugees and migrants, Roma and children without parental care, are more at risk of being exploited.

42(a) Strengthen the application of victim identification procedures, including at border crossings, and ensure that they are disconnected from the victim’s cooperation with law enforcement authorities;
42(d) Effectively investigate and prosecute cases of trafficking of children and ensure appropriate convictions for perpetrators, including for official complicity.
44(a) Align the Penal Code with articles 2 and 3 of the Optional Protocol;
44(b) Prevent and explicitly criminalise sale of children.
44(d) Establish extraterritorial jurisdiction for all crimes under the Optional Protocol.

Strengthen services to properly monitor employers on possible on child labour and exploitation.
Launch awareness raising and sensitization campaigns.
Initiate the necessary policy reforms, including the strengthening of cross-sectoral collaboration to combat child exploitation more effectively.

Adequately staffed services, facilities, information, commodities

Lack of a common protocol for systematic collaboration during inspections that would involve the Labour Inspectorate, welfare professionals, and the police in cases of child labour.
Labour Inspectors and welfare professionals are not adequately trained to identify and collaborate with child labourers.
No specific guidelines for action on cases of child labour.
Access to vocational training and services linked to the labour market are very limited for migrant and refugee children, rendering them extremely vulnerable to child labour.
Inadequate resources and specialized services for the recovery and reintegration of child labourers.

42(b) Build the capacity of law enforcement authorities to identify victims of trafficking, in particular among children in situation of migration and in street situations, Roma children, and other children in vulnerable situations, and refer them to assistance and protection;
42(c) Strengthen the provision of specialized services, particularly shelter, healthcare, including COVID-19 testing, and social reintegration, and ensure effective access to compensation for child victims; provide support to NGOs providing assistance to victims;
42(e) Ensure that victim and witness-protection provisions are implemented and that prosecutions are victim-centred, child-friendly and gender-sensitive, provide training to judges, prosecutors and law-enforcement officials in this regard; and decrease the length of court proceedings for trafficking cases.
44(c) Establish mechanisms for identifying, protecting and supporting victims of all offences under the Optional Protocol beyond human trafficking.

Allocate resources to establish specialized holistic recovery and reintegration services for child labourers, including psychological support, vocational training, and legal assistance.
Develop comprehensive guidelines outlining a structured approach for handling cases of child labor, ensuring consistent and child centered responses, through the engagement of legal experts, child protection experts, and pertinent authorities.
Design and implement specialized training programs that focus on identifying signs of child labour and equipping Labour Inspectors and welfare professionals with the necessary skills to work effectively with children.

Financial access and social behavioural drivers

Underreporting of child labour attributed to fear of retaliation, stigma, or mistrust towards state services and authorities.
Misconceptions, stereotypes and lack of awareness about human trafficking survivors may make impossible or difficult to identify and assist child labourers.

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Establish anonymous reporting mechanisms and implement protocols to protect the identity of those reporting child labour.
Launch awareness raising campaigns on child labour and collaborate with educational authorities to integrate child exploitation awareness programs into the school curriculum.