The Value of Multidisciplinary Approaches to Child Abuse Prevention: Best Practices and Sustainable Applications from Greece

Alexandra Soldatou is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) Medical School. She has served the NKUA Medical School as a full-time staff Pediatrician since 2004, initially at the 1st Dept. of Pediatrics NKUA, and subsequently (2008) at the 2nd Dept. of Pediatrics NKUA. She visited Yale University twice to work on child abuse and neglect prevention programs, in 2017 as a US Department of State Scholar and in 2022 as a Fulbright Scholar. Alexandra is the Director of the Child Safety Care Unit of the 2nd Department of Pediatrics NKUA at the Children’s Hospital of Athens, “P. & A. Kyriakou”, that was inaugurated by ELIZA Society in 2018. She has coordinated the replication of the clinical child safety care model, leading to the inauguration by ELIZA of three additional Units (Athens, Alexandroupolis, Thessaloniki). Alexandra supervised three national educational programs conducted by ELIZA, in collaboration with all university pediatric departments in the country and over 7,500 participants. She is a member of national and international scientific societies, including Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Scholar Member of the Ray Helfer Society. She is on the Board of Directors of two scientific societies and a member of the Scientific Committee of ELIZA. Alexandra has published 73 articles in international journals on General Pediatrics, Pediatric Immunology and Child Abuse & Neglect.

Dr. Fotini-Sonia Apergi is a clinical psychologist with a specialty in family violence and child abuse. She is an Associate Professor at the American College of Greece where in addition to teaching courses in her specialty, she coordinates the practicum training at the department of psychology. Dr Apergi works as a private practitioner with children, adolescents and adults, contributes as a consultant in school settings and presents workshops related to issues of child protection, abuse prevention and capacity building in professionals working with children. Her work focuses primarily on the treatment of children and adolescents who suffered abuse and neglect and their families, in collaboration with various clinical and forensic settings and child protective services. Her research interests lie in the area of child abuse and neglect, child abuse prevention, domestic and relationship violence. Dr. Apergi is a consultant with Justice Initiative Europe and Justice Initiative Greece, an initiative calling on the European Commission to propose laws protecting children from abuse and providing restorative justice to adult victims of child abuse. Since 2016 she collaborates with ELIZA, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in Athens, Greece and has joint its scientific board in 2022. As part of this collaboration she coordinates the child sexual abuse prevention program "Safe Touches" and is the head supervisor for ELIZA's helpline that assists professionals working with children in the recognition and reporting of abuse.

Dr. John M. Leventhal is a Professor Emeritus at the Yale School of Medicine. He has been on the faculty in the Department of Pediatrics since 1979, and from 1982 to 2019, he directed the Yale Child Abuse Programs and Child Abuse Prevention Programs. His research has focused on the epidemiology of child maltreatment, perinatal risk factors for child maltreatment, distinguishing accidental from abusive injuries, and the prevention of abuse and neglect through intensive home visiting. He has published over 200 articles, commentaries, and chapters, and from 2000 to 2006, he served as the Editor of Child Abuse & Neglect, The International Journal. He has received many awards for his teaching, mentorship, and clinical care, including the 2012 ISPCAN C. Henry Kempe Memorial Lectureship. In 2015 to 2017, he served as President of the Ray E. Helfer Society, an international society for physician leaders in the field of child abuse.

Alexander Panos was born in Athens and completed his studies at the Medical School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 2009. He specialized in pediatrics at the Second Pediatric Clinic of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens at the "Panagiotis and Aglaia Kyriakou" Children's Hospital, where he obtained his pediatric specialty title in 2018. Since 2019, he has been working as a pediatrician in the Child Safety Care Unit of the Second Pediatric Clinic of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and is a scientific collaborator of ELIZA. He is a Ph.D. candidate at the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, with a research topic on the "Early Detection of Risk Factors for Child Safety." His specific interests include promoting child health and safety, social pediatrics, and the prevention and intervention of child abuse.