More support pledged for support for domestic violence victims

New interventions to combat gender-based and domestic violence were announced on Monday at parliament, with Law Commissioner Sofia Kleopa Hadjikyriacou saying that access to support would not depend on the victim’s willingness to file a complaint.

Speaking at the House human rights committee, Hadjikyriacou said the interventions were in line with the recommendations made by the Council of Europe (CoE) group of experts (Grevio) for the implementation of the Istanbul Convention.

Akel MP Giorgos Koukoumas said Cyprus had ratified the convention in 2017, and in 2021 had voted harmonising legislation to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence.

The convention, he said, constituted a CoE comprehensive legal framework for the prevention, protection and prosecution of gender-based violence, however “state implementation is fragmented and the public is not properly informed”.

Akel MP Irene Charalambides said there were worrying delays in the implementation of the convention and requested to be informed on the content of Grevio recommendations.

Independent MP Alexandra Attalides said the real question was not what was on paper, but how the laws passed were being implemented.

“We see a lukewarm response from the institutions that are there to protect the victims,” she pointed out.

Hadjikyriacou said the recommendations had been acted upon and amendments to the legislation against gender-based and domestic violence were being promoted.

She said these include continuous training of officers, better risk evaluation, faster processing of applications on behalf of the courts for restraint orders, the inclusion of the children in the same protection order, the capacity to take immediate measures to protect the victims with less evidence demanded, and access to support regardless of a complaint being filed.

The justice ministry’s Aristos Tsiartas said all Grevio recommendations had been promoted to the Law Commissioner for adoption and that before the end of the year a bill would be sent to parliament.

He added that by June 2027 Cyprus was obliged to pass legislation based on an EU directive to prevent violence against women that included online violence.

A Law Office representative said officers had been assigned to study court cases and Grevio recommendations to produce a protocol for the handling of cases by the legal service, with the aim of preventing the victim being victimised again.

Representatives of organisations present voiced their concerns regarding shortcomings in support and delays in issuing court rulings, leading in some cases to the withdrawal of complaints.

Of the complaints filed in 2025, 69 per cent concerned families with young children, with 6 per cent of victims withdrawing the complaints for reasons including delays in prosecutions, the unavailability of clinical psychologists in support structures and the inability to examine women in those structures.

A police representative said special teams had been set up for domestic violence in 2021 and that in the absence of a complaint the police could investigate cases ex officio.