Cyprus, with its links to continental Europe, is increasingly a transit point for migrants. It is also a destination for people from Asia and Africa who seek a better life for themselves.
- Human rights activism in Cyprus is expanding and its major focus of operation is around migration, sexual and reproductive rights and trafficking.
- In the past, Cyprus women’s main expectations were to get married and have children.
- Migrants are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, and laws and policies in the nation do not offer adequate protection.
- The government has also increased collaboration with different women’s organizations.
Migrants are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, and laws and policies in the nation do not offer adequate protection. 1.3.1 Proportion of population above statutory pensionable age receiving a pension. The Plan for the Support of Local Employment, whose implementation started in 2013, prioritised the increase of women’s participation in the workforce. The plan resulted in the employment of 2091 women along with 1812 men until January 2015.
As in previous asian-date.net/western-asia/cyprus-women years, observers report that a number of women, some of whom are trafficking victims, entered the “TRNC” on three-month tourist or student visas and engaged in commercial sex in apartments in north Nicosia, Kyrenia, and Famagusta. Migrants, asylum seekers, LGBTIQ+ persons, refugees, and their children are also at risk for sexual exploitation. Observers report traffickers shifted tactics during the pandemic, forcing female sex trafficking victims to visit clients’ homes due to the drop in demand at nightclubs and often marketed home visits to potential clients under the guise of massage services.
However, the shelter was unable to host the victims of human trafficking and prostitution due to concerns over safety and lack of resources. In 2016, the shelter was permanently closed due to difficulties with security. A study carried out in a farming community in the mid-1970s found that women were still expected to avoid any social contact with men that could be construed to have a sexual context. An expressed desire for male company was seen to reflect poorly on a woman’s honor, and virginity was seen by many villagers, both men and women, to be a precondition for marriage. The government of Cyprus has established six new committees to bridge this gender gap.
Now is the time to ensure that women are at the forefront of efforts to resolve the Cyprus Issue. On the other hand, there appears to be greater political will to assign more women key appointive positions. In recent years,women have been appointed Law Commissioner, Ombudsman, Auditor-General, Deputy Accountant-General and Commissioner for the Protection of Personal Data.
In the nation’s 2001 parliamentary elections, six out of eighty-five women candidates won seats. In the 2005 elections, the number of seats won by women increased to just eight despite a strong advocacy campaign by the Cyprus National Machinery for Women’s Rights. Two women Members of Parliament were in 2009 elected to the European Parliament, and while this is a positive thing, it depleted the numbers of women in the Cypriot national assembly.
What is the State of Women’s Rights in Cyprus?
SWS deployed 42 officers to assist asylum seekers, including screening for trafficking indicators, and the police anti-trafficking unit adopted a new victim identification form. An international organization reported “a high standard of accommodation” at the SWS-run shelter, while civil society reported the implementation of the national referral mechanism improved during the reporting period. However, these efforts were not serious and sustained compared to the efforts during the previous reporting period, even considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the government’s anti-trafficking capacity. Although the government identified roughly the same number of victims, authorities investigated fewer suspects, and, for the third consecutive year, courts did not convict any perpetrators under the trafficking law. Court proceedings for most crimes lasted years, and foreign victims and witnesses often returned to their countries of origin without an adequate means to ensure the continued inclusion of their testimony, resulting in trafficking cases convicted under lesser charges.
History of Cypriot women
The Technical Committee on Gender Equality, created by the leaders and involving both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, has an important role to play as called for by successive UN Security Council resolutions. Cyprus has adopted several national action plans to address domestic (‘family’) violence,human trafficking, poverty and social exclusion. However, these policies are generally not accompanied by the political will or resources needed for their implementation and they remain aspirations.
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Its operation was awarded to the association for the prevention and handling of violence in the family with a grant of €450,000 this year, Anthousi added. She noted how violence against women and girls is on the rise due to the pandemic and the war in Ukraine and expressed her “full support and respect” to all women and girls suffering.