ATHENS – Despite rising incidents of youth violence, including in schools in Greece, Education Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis said that the government’s plan to deal with the problem is showing results.

“Parents and students are no longer afraid to speak up. A total of 407 reports have been submitted to the stop-bullying platform. They are examined one by one and a solution is provided either in the school, or in the secondary committee that is activated in the most serious cases,” he told the Athens-Macedonia News Agency ANA.

He spoke in the wake of a video that showed a 14-year-girl beaten senseless by a gang of some two dozen other youths, mostly girls said to be jealous of her good looks and intelligence and for recording absences in schools.

The government has also prohibited using cell phones in schools and a panic button app is available for youths who can notify police if they are in danger, if they are able to use it while being threatened or attacked.

“Teachers embraced the ban on mobile phones, which were also used as tools for recording incidents of bullying. A total of 813 suspensions have already been imposed for using mobile phones, which means that the measure is working,” he said.

He acknowledged it will take more than a cell phone ban to stop bullying, telling the news agency that, “Neither the platform nor the mobile ban alone can solve the huge problem. That is why we have vastly increased the number of psychologists in schools.”

He said the number of permanent school staff has been increased from 360 to 4800 although there’s understaffing in some that has resulted in first graders being mingled with second graders or even sixth graders.

“Any child and any family deemed to be in need of psychological support at school, we will find a way to provide the help they need,” he said, adding there’s now about 2,000 substitutes being employed each year.

The SafeYOUth App lets minors in distress activate a panic button to alert authorities they are in danger and includes a geolocation to pinpoint where they are, if they’re able to use it if being assaulted.

The target group is those aged 12-18 and the app is also available to parents of children at risk  as well as teachers, coaches and others to try to stem the rising tide of youth violence.