BBC News
By Kostas Kallergis
image copyrightEPA
image captionSofia Bekatorou met the Greek president (R) on Monday night and was praised for speaking out
When former Olympic champion Sofia Bekatorou revealed she had been sexually assaulted by an unnamed Hellenic Sailing Federation (HSF) executive, few realised her powerful testimony would prompt a #Metoo movement in Greek sport.
She was addressing a little-advertised online conference after all.
But when the sailing federation hit back at her allegations the following day, the whole story exploded. It said it had never received any complaint from Bekatorou and essentially asked her to name the man, since she had taken the initiative to speak about this unpleasant incident after so many years .
One by one fellow athletes have come forward with similar claims of abuse. Away from the world of sport, women have also emerged to report purported acts of sexual assault.
In Thessaloniki, more than 100 female students once enrolled in the northern metropolis’s main university reported being abused by a departmental professor at the institution, according to state-run TV.
Greek president Katerina Sakellaropoulou welcomes Sofia Bekatorou at the presidential palace in Athens. Photograph: Alkis Konstantinidis/AP
Politicians across the spectrum have acknowledged the significance of the moment.
In a rare display of unity, the prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and his leftist predecessor, Alexis Tsipras, both voiced support for victims whose determination to speak out has elicited echoes of the #MeToo movement.
Olympic champion s abuse claim triggers debate in Greece
by Derek Gatopoulos And Costas Kantouris, The Associated Press
Posted Jan 20, 2021 11:22 am EDT
Last Updated Jan 20, 2021 at 11:28 am EDT
ATHENS, Greece Olympic sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou appeared before a public prosecutor in Greece on Wednesday in relation to sexual assault accusations that have ignited a nationwide debate on misconduct and encouraged multiple victims to make their claims public.
Bekatorou, who won gold at the 2004 Athens Games, has said a senior sailing federation official assaulted her in 1998.
She made the allegation publicly last week while speaking at an online event organized by the government. It triggered an outpouring of support from public figures, including Greece’s first female president, and has been likened to the “Me Too” movement that followed the accusations and subsequent conviction of Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein.
Olympics champion Sofia Bekatorou fulfilled her duty not only to other women but also to society in its entirety by opening a discussion that we ought to have conducted long ago.