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It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to today's press conference organised by the Ministry of Justice and Public Order to present the results of the Evaluation Report of the National Action Plan for Equality between Men and Women 2019 - 2023.
The issues of ensuring and promoting gender equality and human rights are firmly at the core of the actions and policies of the Ministry of Justice and Public Order and the Government of Nicos Christodoulides more broadly.
Let me first express my deep and sincere thanks to Dr Alexia Panayiotou, Academic and Co-Director of the UNESCO Chair for Gender Equality at the University of Cyprus, and her entire scientific team for the excellent work they have done in relation to the evaluation of the existing Gender Equality Action Plan.
Dear Alexia,
Your deep knowledge of the subject combined with your long and substantial involvement with the issues of defending and securing women's rights have been a guarantee for the high quality and level of the Report that you have prepared and will present to us today.
Dear friends,
As you know, the Ministry of Justice and Public Order has prepared 3 National Action Plans and Strategies for Gender Equality from 2007 to date: the first one covered the period 2007 - 2013, the second one the period 2014 - 2017 and the third one the period 2019 - 2023.
The progress made since the first National Action Plan for Equality was drawn up in 2007 to date on gender equality issues is admittedly great.
Over the last decades, important legislation has been enacted which guarantees the right to equal treatment in employment and equal pay for work of equal value, while fully safeguarding the right to motherhood, fatherhood and parenthood in general. The adoption of legislation to prevent and combat sexual harassment and other forms of gender discrimination at work is also considered important. Many improvements have also been made through the modernisation of family law legislation, with a particularly important development being the operation of the institution of mediation in family disputes.
These laws are complemented by a range of policies and measures that promote the reconciliation of family and professional life, the expansion of the child and elderly care network, the further narrowing of the pay and pension gap, the training and reintegration of women into the labour market and the strengthening of youth and women's entrepreneurship.
Progress has also been made in the area of preventing and combating all forms of violence against women in all aspects of public and private life. Following the ratification of the Istanbul International Convention, significant legislative and institutional breakthroughs have been made, which have further enhanced the level of safety and protection of women victims of all forms of gender and domestic violence.
Let me briefly mention the enactment of the laws on criminalization of gender violence, sexism and stalking, which clearly place women and girls at the centre of their protective framework, due to the fact that they are most severely and adversely affected by these offences.
At the same time, important structures and institutions have been put in place that fully safeguard the rights of victims of violence through integrated, interdisciplinary and victim-centred approaches. I refer, for example, to the creation of the "Women's House" and the establishment of the National Coordinating Body for the Prevention and Combating of Violence against Women, which comes under the Ministry of Justice and Public Order.
In the context of implementing the actions of the first National Strategy and the first National Action Plan for the Prevention and Combating of Violence against Women 2023 - 2028, the Coordinating Body for Gender-Based Violence will proceed in the near future with trainings for front-line health workers, while it plans to extend the trainings to other groups of professionals.
The Ministry of Justice, firmly committed to promoting the principle of gender equality, has proposed together with its Departments and Services many and varied actions for inclusion in the new National Strategy for Gender Equality prepared by the Office of the Gender Equality Commissioner.
Despite the admittedly remarkable progress, we recognize that in order to realize equality, even greater and more substantial breakthroughs are needed, which will allow the elimination of entrenched social stereotypes and perceptions that perpetuate unequal relations between men and women and perpetuate patriarchy.
The horizontal integration of the gender dimension in all policies without exception and the inclusion of the gender dimension in the design and formulation of legislation, policies and measures implemented by the State will make a key and effective contribution to the cultivation and consolidation of a culture of equality and respect for fundamental human rights.
As Minister responsible for gender equality, combating gender-based violence and promoting human rights, I assure you that women and their human rights will continue to be at the centre of our reform efforts to create the conditions for truly equal opportunities in all areas of life without exception: education, work, health, justice and power.
Gender equality is the cornerstone of a peaceful, sustainable and prosperous world and it is in this direction that all of us, state and society, must work collectively and in concert to achieve it.
Thank you very much and I look forward with great interest to the results of Dr Panagiotou's presentation, which I assure you will be fully utilized in the context of the work of the Ministry of Justice and Public Order.
(EAT/NG)
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