Deputy Minister of Social Welfare Anastasia Anthousi, who also participated in the visits, said that where and when there are services that are complementary to the state, funding will continue with appropriate performance indicators and proper supervision.
As Commission President Irini Charalambidou stated after the end of the meetings and the tour of the facilities of these structures, "the obligations of the Human Rights Committee are not limited to handling issues within Parliament, but to listen to the parties directly involved, the officials who handle such sensitive issues on a daily basis and are on the front line."
"These are particularly sensitive issues concerning child abuse and gender violence, people who are going through particularly difficult situations and need support from the state to enable them to cope, to protect themselves and their children," added the AKEL MP.
"We had with us the Deputy Minister of Welfare, who heard first-hand what was presented at the two meetings," she said. "Our aim is to try together to create an even more protective framework[/B] through amendments to the legislation, but also suggestions for new data," added Charalambidou, who also praised the work of the competent officials and assured on behalf of the Commission that "we will always be at their side in order to have the best protective network for women, but also for children."
Democratic Rally MP Rita Theodorou Superman[/B] also expressed her support for the two structures, "which set an example of coordination of services, all working together to deal with these difficult cases of violence, both to children and women".
"A society that addresses these issues is a society that cares about its citizens, whether they are women, men or children, so this society with the right actions is a healthy society in the end," she added.
Congratulating the staff of the structures, as well as the Deputy Minister of Welfare for her personal involvement, the DISY MP noted that the improvement of the structures is necessary "considering that this phenomenon is constantly increasing, especially violence against women". "Some individual actions need to be taken, such as the technical infrastructure that should be given to the courts so that audio-visual testimonies of children can be taken in other provinces besides Nicosia," she said.
The MP of the Citizens' Ecological Co-operation Movement Alexandra Attalidou said for her part that violence against women and violence against children are particularly burdensome, they are complex and therefore need a multidisciplinary approach, adding that "the Children's House and the Women's House are steps in the right direction, something we have been asking for years and I am very happy because today's visit has shown us that spaces have been created with science and with enough sensitivity, so that victims feel protected to be able to proceed with complaints and to be properly managed."
"I think that a favoured state should invest in the services it offers to victims, but it should also address the causes of violence, address the perpetrators with significant penalties, but also as a society we should have individuals who want and can be rehabilitated to have those structures to be rehabilitated so that they are no longer a problem in society," she stressed. Attalidou, stressing also that "the psychological and economic cost to a society that is governed by violence is enormous and we cannot turn our backs on this phenomenon or leave it closed behind sealed doors."
"The Human Rights Commission wants and can shed a lot of light on this issue and address all the parameters in a meaningful way so that we too can do our part to tackle violence, which has increased greatly due to the pandemic," he concluded.
During the discussions with the representatives of the Children's House, Deputy Minister of Social Welfare Anastasia Anthousi spoke of a model that should be extended to other cities.
"The multidisciplinary support of the child is very important not only to achieve convictions, but to help the child for the next day. We also need to find a way to shorten the processes, as if there is no early intervention the child may be a concern for Social Welfare Services," he said. "In the various European committees Cyprus is mentioned as an example, but improvements should be made, for example on the issue of forensic examination and how it can be made more child-friendly," she added.
On the Women's Home, the Deputy Minister said the general policy position is that where and when there are services which are complementary to the state, funding will continue with appropriate performance indicators and proper oversight, adding that a proposal will be submitted to the Council of Ministers to CNA
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