Some 10,000 cases of gender-based and domestic violence have been reported to Cyprus police over the past five years, with almost 7,000 of them reaching the courts, Justice and Public Order Minister Costas Fytiris told Parliament’s Human Rights Committee today.
The committee launched the inquiry into Cyprus’s implementation of the Istanbul Convention following recent femicide cases.
Fytiris acknowledged a lack of cooperation between the relevant services in handling violence cases, and said a new platform called “Red Flagging” is being prepared to help address gender-based and domestic violence.
Committee chairman and AKEL MP Christos Christofides said Cyprus has a substantial legislative framework, a National Coordinating Body, specialised police units and protocols already in place. However, he pointed to seven “critical gaps” — in data collection, high-risk assessment, cross-agency cooperation, how cases progress through the justice system, institutional learning following a femicide or attempted femicide, and the legislative and preventive timeline.
