Among reports of violence against women in Cyprus in 2023 and 2024, 76 per cent were cases of domestic violence, human rights commissioner Maria Lottides said on Tuesday.

In a statement to mark the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Lottides said that in 2022, a total of 2,614 women had filed complaints to the police, including 57 reports of rape.

Her office launched an awareness campaign aimed at encouraging women to file complaints, stressing that conviction was the only way to combat gender-based violence.

This year, the UN has focussed on violence against women in the digital sphere. This includes online harassment, sexist targeting and the non-consensual sharing of personal material.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives said that despite the legislative ratification of international conventions and a strengthened legal framework, weaknesses in implementing legislation remain, noting that incidents of violence against women remain high.

It highlighted the need for improved prevention mechanisms and support structures for victims, adding that particular importance would be given to strengthening police departments via training and staffing, as well as enhanced cooperation with the relevant authorities.

Gender equality commissioner Josie Christodoulou emphasised the need for effective cooperation for the prevention of gender-based violence, particularly in view of increased harassment and threats in the digital space.

“These forms of violence are no less serious because they occur in the digital space. They have real, harmful consequences for the lives, mental health and safety of women and girls,” Christodoulou said.

To combat these relatively new forms of violence, the commissioner stressed the need for cooperation with social media platforms, as well as the overall strengthening of digital literacy to ensure a safer digital environment.

Meanwhile, the association of domestic violence prevention services (Spavo) reported that 40 per cent of victims of gender-based violence incidents are linked to some form of online violence.

“Online and domestic violence often coexist, with online violence acting as a complementary tool to control and extend abuse beyond the boundaries of the home,” Spavo said.

The most common forms of online violence reported include GPS monitoring, other forms of surveillance, unconsented reading of messages and threats to publish personal photos or videos, or creating fake profiles for defamation, Spavo said.

The Cyprus Psychologists Association warned that violence against women deeply affected mental health, as well as social equality and social cohesion, and severely impacted the lives of women and children.

The organisation emphasised the pivotal role of psychologists in the context of violence prevention, evaluation and recuperation, underlining that it was crucial to grasp the mental aspect of violence to understand and successfully tackle and support victims.

The justice ministry meanwhile announced it was intensifying efforts to combat gender-based violence.

Warning of digital violence as “one of the fastest-emerging forms of gender-based violence”, the ministry said the phenomenon has spread widely due the absence of adequate accountability mechanisms and an effective legislative framework.

The ministry said implemented measures include basic training for professionals handling cases of gender-based violence, information campaigns for civil society, research initiatives and legislative changes.

It also drew attention to the police’s Elpis (Greek for hope) application, launched at the beginning of 2025, aimed to help victims of domestic violence contact the police off via their mobile phone.

Overall, 36 per cent of women in Cyprus reported experiencing physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15 – ranking the island five per cent higher than the EU average. Add to that more than 12,500 incidents of domestic violence recorded over the past five years (as of 2024).

This year alone, at least two women were murdered in femicides – punishable by up to a lifetime jail since 2022 – while in January, an attempted femicide was reported in Peyia. Cyprus has recorded a total of 42 femicides in the past decade.

November 25 marks the start of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, serving as an annual reminder of the need to protect women – one which is killed every ten minutes in a femicide.

In Cyprus, people facing domestic and/or intimate partner violence can turn to the free helpline 1440, available 24 hours a day and on 365 days of the year and receive support by trained psychologists and social workers.