Greek authorities should push through the necessary reforms to facilitate the process for rape victims seeking justice, the 31-year-old Canadian victim of a sex attack has told Kathimerini after the trial of her alleged attacker was postponed for a third time this week.

“Authorities in Greece should realize that rape victims, after all they have been through, cannot be left waiting indefinitely in order to serve outdated laws,” the 31-year-old said after authorities put off the trial of her alleged rapist, a Greek national, due to a strike by court staff.

The woman, a writer from Montreal, traveled to Greece to face in court the man charged with raping her – as well as a Danish woman and two Australians – in Athens in 2005. All the victims said they had been offered drinks, which turned out to be laced with drugs, by a man who offered them to take them on a tour of the Acropolis.

The 31-year-old, who is engaged to a Canadian of Greek descent, said she had not received any support from Greek authorities and had relied on the help of the Greek Helsinki Monitor, a non-governmental organization. “With the exception of two members of the Greek Helsinki Monitor, no one else has responded to any of my queries over the past year,” the woman told Kathimerini.

She added that she had been let down by the police and health workers. “Police said they couldn’t do anything and sent me to hospital,” the 31-year-old said, adding that three hospitals refused to carry out tests to determine whether there were any drugs in her system. The tests were carried out 24 hours after the attack which gave the substance enough time to leave the woman’s system. “What I have learnt about the Greek system is that no one cares about anything or anyone,” she said.

The 31-year-old, who has paid about 1,000 euros to visit Greece, said she should be entitled to some sort of compensation, at least to cover her travel costs. “But chiefly I would like confirmation that there will not be a third delay to the trial,” she said. The hearing has been delayed twice – once in July due to lack of witnesses and on Monday due to a court workers’ strike.