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Ηouse Speaker presents proposal for criminalisation of femicides

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House Speaker Annita Demetriou on Wednesday presented her proposal for criminalisation of femicides, before the Parliament`s Legal Affairs Committee.

She noted that with this proposal the Cyprus Republic and the Parliament lead the way for the protection and safeguard of human rights and the abolition of stereotypes. Demetriou said that femicide is the most extreme form of gender violence and the proposed change of the penal code aims at strengthening the legal armoury of the Republic so that it becomes compatible with its obligation for the abolition of violence and discrimination against women.

House Speaker said that today we make a huge step for women`s rights, for the protection of human rights and for addressing a phenomenon that has increased especially during the pandemic.

She also noted that Cyprus is the first country that has criminalised sexism adding that the Republic can also lead the way on femicides. As she explained, the penal code will be amended to include the offence of femicide which will carry a life sentence.

During the meeting of the Committee the Scientific Director of the Association for the Prevention and Handling of Violence in the Family Andri Andronikou said that in 2020 a total of 2,147 violence incidents were reported, 880 of which were related to increased domestic violence incidents against women in the last three months, 407 related to life threats, 322 related to violence with the use of a gun or other object and 129 related to strangulation attempts.

Susana Pavlou, Head of the Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies (MIGS) said that between 2010-2016 there were 28 femicide incidents, 75% of which were domestic violence incidents. According to Pavlou, between 2019-2020 Cyprus reported 13 femicides including two children and the majority of the perpetrators were male and Cypriots.

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