Violence against women a pandemic, domestic abuse committee says

Violence against women is one of the most widespread human rights violations in the world with statistics that show it as a pandemic, the advisory committee for the prevention and combatting of domestic violence said on Friday on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

In a statement taking stock of its work in the past year, the committee said that according to the World Health Organisation, one in three women worldwide experiences physical or sexual violence, mainly by a partner.

“Femicide is the result of chronic, systematic abuse of a woman, culminating in death,” the statement said, noting that violence against women is the most serious form of gender discrimination perpetrated in the context of gendered power relations between men and women.

The committee said that in its 27 years in operation, it has played a key role at multiple levels in the field of domestic/gender-based violence, and that in 2023, within the framework of its responsibilities, it raised various issues to competent House committees.

These included the harmonisation of the law on domestic violence for its prevention and protection of victims, ensuring working conditions for female victims as a vulnerable group, removing the reservation of Article 30 (2), regarding victim compensation, and the lifting of the reservation of Article 59 regarding the residence status of the victims, as raised by the Republic of Cyprus during the signing of the Istanbul Convention.

This is because intimidation for deportation or loss of residence status is a powerful tool in the hands of the perpetrators, the statement highlighted.

It also said that the committee recommended that all legislation regarding family law is amended to ensure the principle of a child’s best interest in cases relating to domestic abuse against women, and cases of guardianship, custody and communication rights, according to the Istanbul Convention.

Another issue raised to House committees is access to free legal aid for victims of violence, it said.

The committee said that in addition to the above, it is active in the training of relevant professionals through seminars, as well as the organisation of lectures, such as its latest conference, held in October, which was led by domestic violence expert David Mandel.

Mandel presented the “Safe & Together” model to improve implementation systems and procedures of inter-agency cooperation of the involved services in cases of domestic violence involving children.

The committee also said that last week it participated in a roundtable discussion organized by teaching union Poed, for teacher management groups on managing domestic violence incidents at school.

“The committee for the prevention and combatting of domestic violence will continue to take the lead in defending the rights of female victims of domestic/gender violence to ensure their support and protection,” the statement finally said.