The Smile of the Child
TSOTC
“The Smile of the Child” is the largest internationally recognized non-profit, Non-Governmental Organization in Greece in the critical field of child protection, search and rescue of missing children, support of children and families with children in need, as well as free public health service for children, both in prevention, intervention and treatment.
ID: 66055258617-28
Lobbying Activity
Meeting with Yannis Maniatis (Member of the European Parliament)
18 Nov 2025 · Introductory meeting
Response to Five-year European migration and asylum Strategy
9 Oct 2025
The Smile of the Child was founded 30 years ago and is Greece's largest civil society organization in the field of child care and child protection. From this perspective, it has a direct involvement and interest in issues of migration related to children and thus offers the following comments and remarks, as outlined in the attached document.
Read full responseResponse to EU Anti-Poverty Strategy
8 Oct 2025
The Smile of the Child welcomes the initiative and believes that the EU Anti - Poverty strategy can be significantly strengthened by integrating a number of key elements, as outlined in the attached document.
Read full responseResponse to Action plan against cyberbullying
16 Sept 2025
The Smile of the Child welcomes the initiative and hereby wishes to make the following contribution: Initially,a unified definition formulated according to circumstances that have already occurred and oriented toward prevention will result in a systematic & structured approach to addressing the phenomenon.In Greece there is no specific definition.From a legal point of view,cyberbullying is classified as an act of violence,covered by criminal law,while the Ministry of Education treats incidents as another category of violence.On the MoE's official platform 'stop bullying.gr' anyone can report cyberbullying.A definition should include every form it can take & any specific characteristics relating to its forms,while the ability to update the definition & introduce new technologies will be of paramount importance to its prevention & combat.Also AI gives a new dynamic to the form & intensity,and this must be taken into account on the global level,always in accordance with the ROC. Below we suggest ways that could be improved to encourage & facilitate cyberbullying reporting: -Update/level up/improve children Platforms.Provide a highly visible,low-friction report button that opens a short,child-friendly form(age-appropriate language,icons) that asks only the essentials (who,what,when,screenshots).This reduces cognitive load & shame.Single-tap,context-aware report flows for kids. -Allow anonymous/pseudonymous reporting & safe peer report options(CyberTipline).Let children who experience cyberbullying or bystanders file reports without immediately revealing identity to perpetrators;allow Im worried about a friend quick reports & peer-flagging that route to support rather than punish. -Provide Automatic evidence capture & preservation helpers.Offer one-tap save conversation/screenshot so children dont have to think how to collect proof before reporting. -When a child reports have responses with clear,visible feedback.Give immediate simple feedback (We received your report),then a second message when action is takenor if not, why not.Platforms should explain possible outcomes in child-friendly terms.Build-in safety micro-interventions & contextual prompts(This message may be hurtful-would you like to block/report?).For serious threats,platforms should have clear,fast escalation to parents/school/certified child protection contacts while following age-appropriate consent & privacy rules.Provide children an option to request adult help during the report. -Emphasize need to improve schools' policy,culture & operations.Multiple,known reporting channels:anonymous online forms,trained peer-mentors,school counsellors & a named safe adult. -Train school staff in trauma-sensitive response so as to respond non-judgmentally,preserve evidence,respect confidentiality limits,understand mandatory reporting laws. -Peer-support & restorative options:Offer mediation/restorative circles & social-skills programs alongside disciplinary measures-many kids fear retaliation/escalated punishment,so restorative choices can make reporting feel safer. -Improve child protection systems & public policy.There is need for clear cross-sector reporting pathways that define when schools escalate cases to child welfare services,when police become involved & how platforms and eSafety agencies coordinate. -Platforms should be held to mandated response standards & transparency obligations:publishing key metrics (average response times,proportion of reports actioned) & maintaining reporting flows designed specifically for children witth transparency to increase accountability & trust,while allowing regulators & civil society to benchmark progress. -Governments should ensure funded local response capacity,invest in accessible counselling services trained to address online harms,legal aid for families & rapid image/content takedown assistance. In the attached document we include our suggestions for Greece, on the short, medium and long-term levels.
Read full response12 Feb 2024
The Smile of the Child welcomes the Commissions proposal to extend the temporary derogation from specific provisions of Directive 2002/58/EC aimed at combating online child sexual abuse. Given delays in the negotiations for the proposed Regulation on rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse, it is crucial to extend this derogation beyond its current expiry date, ensuring no lapse in the protection of children online. Taking into account the increasing exposure of minors to inappropriate material on the Ιnternet, as reported to us through the National Helpline for Children SOS 1056, as well as international research, it is evident that we need to guarantee the child's right to dignity and respect even more thoroughly. In the absence of a permanent and long-term legislative framework regarding the protection of minors' rights in the online environment, the extension of the current transitional framework is considered to be imperative, as the only safeguard for children in the digital world. We must not fail to take into account Article 7 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which ratifies the right of every individual to be exposed to the digital world with regard to every aspect of their personal data in terms of exposure and communication. However, childrens best interests must be the primary priority, and this complies with Articles 1, 3 and 4 of the EU Charter on the rights to human dignity, the right to the integrity of the person and the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment, respectively, considering that child sexual abuse can (gravely) interfere with these fundamental rights of the children involved. Stopping the extension of the existing framework and waiting for a new and long-term one could serve as the ideal condition for violating the inalienable rights of minors, as well as sealing that they will be at risk online. In this case, no institution or organization would be able to foresee the moral and actual harm that minors could suffer in the absence of a solid framework for safeguarding their rights. Minors will be exposed to a range of risks, potential offenders will have the opportunity to act in the absence of protective provision, and there is no real possibility to assess the immense potential harm to children. In view of the need to protect minors and taking all the above into account, it is necessary to extend the current framework until the time when children's movements in the online world are uniformly and permanently guaranteed. Τhe Smile of the Child, as member of ECLAG, emphasizes the urgency of a comprehensive, long-term and robust, Regulation that: -Mandates child safety by design to ensure that platforms design their services with the rights and needs of children at the centre, assess the risk of child sexual abuse on their services and adopt risk mitigation measures such as privacy settings by default for underage accounts, effective age verification and child-friendly reporting mechanisms. -Mandates the detection, reporting, and removal of ALL forms of online child sexual abuse (known and unknown child sexual abuse materials and grooming), across ALL platforms; -Establishes a clear permanent legal basis for voluntary detection measures, as part of risk mitigation measures; -Is technology neutral and future-proof to ensure children are protected in all spaces on the internet, including in end-to-end encrypted environments, and enable the development and deployment of technical solutions in the rapidly evolving digital environment, including gaming and the metaverse; -Sets up an independent EU Centre which fits into the existing EU and global child safety ecosystem, and which includes a Survivors Committee which would provide policy recommendations to the EU Centre.
Read full responseResponse to Child sexual abuse online: detection, removal and reporting
12 Sept 2022
Attached is the feedback of 'The Smile of the Child', Greece.
Read full responseResponse to Preventing and combatting gender-based violence
13 Jan 2021
The feedback of "The Smile of the Child" can be found in the attached document.
Read full responseResponse to New Pact on Migration and Asylum
27 Aug 2020
THE FEEDBACK OF THE SMILE OF THE CHILD IS REFLECTED IN THE ATTACHED DOCUMENT
Read full responseResponse to Delivering for children: an EU strategy on the rights of the child
5 Aug 2020
The remarks, as well as the specificic recommendations of "The Smile of the Child" regarding the EU strategy on the rights of the child for the period 2021-2024, are presented in full in the attached document.
Read full responseResponse to EU strategy for a more effective fight against child sexual abuse
30 Jun 2020
“THE SMILE OF THE CHILD”
PROPOSALS IN VIEW OF EC ROADMAP ON EU STRATEGY TO FIGHT CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
o Obligatory inclusion of sexual education in school curriculum for all levels of education and for all EU member states, as well as appointment of responsible person in school to whom questions can be addressed.
o Introduction of prenatal courses on sexual education and abuse.
o Obligatory programs on sexual education, healthy relationships and sexual abuse (identifying and reporting cases of sexual abuse), ideally at University level , not only for educators/teachers, but also doctors, lawyers, psychologists, social workers, law enforcers and other humanitarian professionals.
o Strong proposition to all EU member states to incorporate prevention programs in school curricula for all levels of education. Set standards for the programs. Indicate specific programs that have been proven to be effective and promote their translation and standardization for each member state. Focus on (1) child abuse/neglect prevention and (2) online safety programs, relevant to different age groups. Appoint a person responsible to address questions.
o Incorporate relevant training in the detection, management and prevention of child abuse and neglect in qualification programs for police officers, prosecutors, teachers, doctors, and social workers.
o Incorporate relevant training in online safety in teachers’ qualification programs.
o Incorporate in all EU member states’ legislation the confidentiality professionals who want to report a crime against a child.
o Incorporate in all EU member states’ legislation a standard minimum timeframe for the trials of child abuse cases.
o Incorporate in all EU member states’ legislation strict punishments for the abusers.
o Direction of implementation of all the necessary procedures towards a child friendly justice, based on international standards.
o Standardization (protocol) for all EU member states on the procedure of hiring professionals that work with children.
o Standardization (protocol) for all EU member states on reporting and managing incidents of child sexual abuse (…about procedures).
o Therapeutic protocols on helping children with sexual abuse trauma.
o Creation of specialized therapeutic Centers for sexual abused children.
o Criminal record for abusers and imposing stricter measures for crimes concerning abuse.
Read full responseMeeting with Ylva Johansson (Commissioner) and
12 Mar 2020 · Discussion on the current situation in Greece
Meeting with Christos Stylianides (Commissioner)
21 Nov 2017 · Children - Humanitarian Aid
Meeting with Dimitris Avramopoulos (Commissioner)
24 Feb 2015 · Actions on issues of unaccompanied children and abused children