Six in ten women in Greece victims of sexual harassment: survey

ATHENS, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Sixty-five percent of women in Greece said they had suffered sexual harassment, according to a survey released Tuesday in the wake of the revelations of Greek Olympic sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou.

The 43-year-old athlete, who had won a gold medal in the 2004 Olympics and a bronze in the 2008 Olympics, opened a public discourse after revealing a few days ago that an official of the Hellenic Sailing Federation sexually assaulted her in 1998 during training for the Sydney Olympics.

The official Bekatorou named was forced to quit his post.

Many women in sports, culture, science and other sectors followed with similar revelations.

Fifty-eight percent of those surveyed by Prorata polling firm said they experienced harassment in their work environment.

The survey with 1,115 participants took place on Jan. 22-24.

A total of 87 percent of respondents said it was not easy for victims of sexual abuse to find justice.

According to experts, this is one of the factors why such cases are underreported and do not reach courts.

Bekatorou, as well as other women who spoke out lately, said they felt humiliated and feared that they would not be heard.

Greek government ministers and other officials have pledged that all allegations will be fully investigated.

Earlier this week, a former Greek sailing coach was arrested on charges of sexual abuse of a junior athlete during 2010-2013.

Encouraged by Bekatorou's case, the now 21-year-old female athlete found the courage to testify to a prosecutor.