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Cyprus

Writer's picture: ThriveThrive

Population Size:

1,198,575.[1]

Number of People Experiencing Domestic Abuse Each Year:

2017: 1,680 cases of domestic abuse were reported by SPAVO, of which 89% were against female victims, 61% lived with the perpetrator and 88% reported that violence had occurred more than once.[2]

In 2012, it was reported that at least 28% of women in Cyprus have experienced some form of domestic violence, including economic violence, psychological violence, sexual violence, and physical violence.[3]

2014: The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights survey data showed that since the age of 15, 20% of women in Cyprus have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from a partner and/or a non-partner, and that 31% of people in Cyprus revealed that they knew a female victim of domestic violence within their circle of friends and family.[4]

2012: Cyprus conducted its first nationwide survey on the extent, frequency, forms and consequences of domestic violence against women in Cyprus.

No research on male victims or other gender identities.

Cost of Domestic Abuse to the Economy Each Year:

The European Institute for Gender Equality has estimated that the cost of intimate partner violence against women in Cyprus could amount to €186 million per year.[5]

Estimated % Change due to COVID-19:

There have been estimates of a 30% increase in domestic and gender-based violence due to COVID-19.[6]


The Association for the Prevention and Handling of Family Violence stated that in the period from 9th March 2020, the day on which Cyprus confirmed its first COVID-19 case, to 31st March 2020, its help line had recorded 2,075 calls. Of these, it was able to answer 921 calls;the rest could not be answered because the lines were busy. In the above period, 15 requests were made to go to a safe house, 12 reports of domestic violence were made and 230 reports of violence in the family, which is 10 per day. This is about 47% higher than in previous months.[7]


Current Law and Policy:

Cyprus has committed to reducing domestic violence through laws and national action plans. Cyprus signed the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence. Most recently, along with other countries, committed to Protecting Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and Promoting Gender-responsiveness in the COVID-19 crisis which includes domestic violence.

Domestic violence legislation covers physical, sexual, and psychological, but not economic, abuse. The Advisory Committee for the Prevention and Combating of Domestic Violence (ACPC Domestic Violence) is the governmental agency in charge of monitoring the implementation of the Law. The legal framework is complemented by an active policy across Cyprus, expressed by the adoption of the first and second National Action Plan (NAP) on Prevention and Combating of Violence in the Family (2010—2013 and 2016-2019) promoting integrated policies and measures to combat domestic violence. In Cyprus, while domestic violence is the form of violence against women that has received the greatest level of support by the Cyprus Government. There remains further concern, as there is no systematic training of professional staff of all services dealing with violence against women.


Frontline Services:

 

Sources


[1] The World Bank, (1).

[2] Association for the Prevention and Handling of Violence in the Family, “Statistics – 2017”, (domviolence.org.cy).

[3] European Institute for Gender Equality, Combating Violence Against Women: Cyprus.

[4] EIGE, “Combatting Violence Against Women – Cyprus”, (2018), Report.

[5] ibid.

[6] See Graham-Harrison, Giuffrida, Smith and Ford, (147).

[7] In-Cyprus, “Sharp Rise in Domestic Violence Amid COVID-19 Outbreak”, (in-cyprus.philenews.com, 2 April 2020).


Further Reading


[1] UN Women, “Cyprus Commits to Scale Up Support for Gender Equality Rooted in a New National Action Plan”, (unwomen.org).

[2] OECD, “Cyprus”, (2019), Social Institutions and Gender Index.

[3] Government of the Netherlands, “Protecting Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and Promoting Gender-Responsiveness in the COVID-19 Crisis”, (government.nl, 6 May 2020).

[4] Advisory Committee on the Prevention and Combatting of Domestic Violence, “National Action Plan on the Prevention and Combatting of Domestic Violence (2010-2013)”, (2010), Plan from the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance in Cyprus.


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