The parliament proposed to make hate speech towards disabled and elderly people an offence on Wednesday.

The suggestion was proposed by independent MP Alexandra Attalides and Akel MP Giorgos Koukoumas, to the House legal affairs committee.

The committee focused on combating racist incidents against people, based on their age or disability.
“When we discuss racism or hate speech, we forget that racism includes people with disabilities and especially people with intellectual disabilities, and the elderly,” Koukoumas said.

He added that a legislative step should be taken, because there is a gap in the legislation regarding the matter.

The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights protects individuals against hate speech based on disability and age, he said.

“We need to do this as well, whilst in 14 states in the EU they criminalised hate speech based on disability and in another six European states they have criminalised hate speech based on age.”

A law needs to be made for the affected people to report any such incidences.

“It’s concerning because when hate speech is directed against disabled people it could end up as a hate crime.”

Attalides said that it’s time to include discrimination and hate speech against these groups in the law. She added that according to research from the Third Age Observatory in 2023 there were more than 230 complaints of elder abuse.

President of the Cyprus confederation of disabled people (Kysoa) Themis Athopoulou agrees with the submission of the draft law combating hate speech.

“If we want Cyprus to be considered a modern European country, governed by the rule of law, we must start taking action within the framework of this proposed law,” he said.

Anthopoulou spoke about people being sent making them incapable of work due to their disability.

“How are we supposed to feel better when you tell us that we must stop working, that we must live on grants, when you tell us to go home, because that’s what’s best for us? How is this best for us? When we cannot work within society,” secretary of the Pancyprian multiple sclerosis association Despina Roussou said.