Platform to bring services together in fight against domestic violence

A platform allowing for the exchange of information among services concerning domestic violence incidents will be up and running by the end of the year, chairman of the House human rights committee Christos Christofides said on Monday, acknowledging the state “small but substantial steps” in the right direction. The platform will facilitate communication between services. Christofides explained that currently, if a social worker visits a home and identifies violence, the message may not reach the police or the children’s school in order to take preventive measures. With the platform, there will be “horizontal coordination” and the exchange of data. The platform, Christofides added, was not a “red button”, but a place to gather and share information. MPs continued discussions on domestic violence and protocols to address incidents, in the presence of Justice Minister Costas Fitiris, whose announcement for psychometric tests every three years for those in possession of firearms was “a fundamental demand of ours, particularly after the attempted femicide last summer”, according to Christofides. He also said the potential of expanding the women’s house institution to cover the whole of Cyprus would also be looked into. “There is of course much yet to be done,” he pointed out. Regarding protocols, the MPs have requested internal circulars to be issued at the justice ministry and the deputy welfare ministry, to follow up on court orders so that female victims cannot be approached by the male perpetrators. Christofides said the understanding on Monday was that legislation was not the problem, but implementing it was. “That is why we have condemning rulings from the European Court of Human Rights,” he pointed out. The police informed the MPs that in the first eight months of 2026 there had been 1,334 criminal cases, with 796 already in courts. Specialised police officers have been assigned domestic violence cases, with 16 in Nicosia and one at the women’s house also in Nicosia, 13 in Limassol, 13 in Larnaca, eight in Paphos, 11 in Famagusta and four at the district office for Morphou. Meanwhile, there have been 15 complaints against police officers since 2024, specifically nine in 2024, three in 2025 and three until August this year.