Filter the database by
MS Title Partners Description More details
Cyprus Advisory Committee for the Prevention and Combating of Violence in the Family’sinterdepartmental guide on domestic violence
  • Persons appointed by the Council of Ministers to serve in a personal capacity, who have been selected from non-governmental organisations active in the field of domestic violence and government bodies including the police, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Health and the Social Welfare Services
 		The national law on domestic violence provides for the establishment of an advisory committee comprising individuals from the private and public sectors to coordinate actions intended to prevent and combat domestic violence. These actions include awareness raising, training, research, and the monitoring of compliance with the legislative framework.
In 2002, the advisory committee produced a manual on interdepartmental procedures for addressing domestic violence for the Social Welfare Services, the police, the Public Health Services, the Office of the Attorney General and non-governmental organisations active in the field of domestic violence. It was approved and adopted by the Council of Ministers. Two years later, in 2004, the implementation of the manual was evaluated by a member of the advisory committee. Ιn 2017, the advisory committee produced a new manual of interdepartmental procedures that focused on children victims of domestic violence, building on the experiences gained from implementing the 2002 interdepartmental manual and aiming to improve the provision of coordinated services. The new manual outlines the procedures to be followed by governmental and non-governmental agencies, clarifying the tasks and roles of each agency and providing step-by-step guidance on the procedures surrounding reporting, referrals, investigations and service provision. 		View more
Cyprus Foni, the multiagency body for child sexual abuse
  • Nine individuals appointed by the Council of Ministers from the governmental and non-governmental sectors
 		To implement the national strategy for combating sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, special legislation was adopted that provided for the establishment of a council of nine individuals appointed by the Council of Ministers from the governmental and non-governmental sectors. Three out of the nine members were nominated by non-governmental organisations and one member had to represent the Advisory Committee for the Prevention and Combating of Violence in the Family. The mechanism, which took the name Foni, the Greek word for ‘voice’, is tasked with:
  • strategic planning;
  • promoting, monitoring, evaluating and coordinating the implementation of the national strategy by various agencies in the governmental or non-governmental sectors;
  • making recommendations to the interministerial committee on the adoption of legislative and other measures;
  • carrying out awareness campaigns;
  • monitoring, funding, coordinating and evaluating all relevant prevention programmes, including in the governmental and non-governmental sectors;
  • developing the methodologies, guidelines and specifications of each prevention programme;
  • developing and implementing training programmes for government- and non-government-sector officials and volunteers on the sexual abuse and exploitation of children and child pornography.

Foni’s website provides step-by step guidance for teachers and parents, advice on how to raise awareness and an online complaint form for children. 		View more
Cyprus The Children’s House
  • Social Welfare Services
  • Hope for Children
  • Ministry of Health
  • Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth
  • Cyprus Police
 		In operation since September 2017, this project was developed in line with the Icelandic Barnahus model for child-friendly good practice. It offers child victims of sexual abuse direct access in one location to all services needed for the handling of sexual abuse incidents. The aim is to reduce the risk of re-victimisation and stigmatisation and enable the safe and efficient management of incidents in a child-friendly environment. The Social Welfare Services assigned the operation of the Children’s House to the non-governmental organisation Hope for Children. The running of the house also involves the police, the Social Welfare Services, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth. This cooperation is based on a memorandum of understanding signed between Hope for Children and every partner to this project.
Cases of sexual abuse are referred to the Children’s House by either the police or the Social Welfare Services, following which a social worker conducts a needs assessment and compiles a plan for support, which should be provided to the child and/or their family following a house visit when needed. Since 2019, the Children’s House has been connected with the courts through a teleconferencing system, which enables children to testify in court in cases of sexual abuse and exploitation while remaining in the Children’s House.
The project brings together all relevant services using a multidisciplinary and interagency approach, aiming to ensure that the safety and well-being of the child is aligned with their best interests and their right to be heard and receive information without delay. 		View more