‘Gender identity’ has been named for the first time in the Greek legal system, as a protected group in hate crime legislation.

The change to Article 66 of the Penal Code Amendments was introduced by opposition MP Vassiliki Katrivanou and Aphrodite Stabouli, spokesperson for Syriza, the coalition for the radical left.

Minister for Justice, Antonis Roupakiotis, accepted the amendment so that the legislation now reads:

‘Performing an act motivated by nationalistic, racial or religious hatred, or hatred due to different sexual orientation or gender identity against a victim, is considered an aggravating circumstance and the sentence cannot be suspended.’

The Greek Transgender Support Group said the amendment was ‘a first victory of the trans community’.

The group said in a statement:

‘In addition to the hate crime legislation, we believe this day to be very important for the greek trans community, since it is the first time the term “Gender Identity” has ever been used within the context of the Greek Judicial System, and therefore, we consider this a first victory of the trans community.’