Eight hundred divorces are registered annually in Cyprus in all districts, while already since the beginning of the year almost 400 petitions have been filed, the house human rights committee heard on Monday during a discussion on financial issue divorcees face.

These reports were made by a representative of the Bar Association, who told members of the Human Rights Committee that the process of collecting alimony is difficult.

She further recommended that the procedure for issuing a prison order, which is time-consuming, be changed, noting that two-thirds of prison orders are issued when one parent is forced to resort to this route when the other parent, for his or her own reasons, fails to pay support.

She added that 80 per cent of legal aid applications are rejected by the family courts, although there is a budget which is not being exhausted.

During the session, head of the committee and Akel MP, Irene Charalambides, asked tan amendment to be tabled to see if the members of the committee can discuss it and forward it to the plenary.

In a statement, Disy MP Rita Superman said that the problems of divorcees are increasing and are not being solved, as they are lost and degraded in the maze of bureaucracy, adding that the process of collecting alimony takes from 1.5 months to 7 years.