According to data provided by Cyprus Police to CNA, 17 femicides were committed in Cyprus between 2020 and 2025. The breakdown by year is as follows:
-five in 2020,
-five in 2021,
-two in 2022,
-one in 2023,
-one in 2024 and
-three in 2025.
So far in 2026, two attempted femicides have been recorded.
By district, six femicides were committed in Nicosia, six in Limassol, four in Paphos and one in Larnaca.
647 women and children housed in shelters in 2025
Speaking to CNA, Aristos Tsiарtas, President of the National Coordinating Body for the Prevention and Combating of Violence against Women at the Ministry of Justice and Public Order, stated that a total of 300 women and 347 children were accommodated in shelters for survivors of violence across Cyprus in 2025, bringing the total to 647 individuals. The figures cover shelters in Nicosia, Limassol and Paphos, as well as alternative accommodation structures operating in those districts, run by the Association for the Prevention and Handling of Violence in the Family (SPAVO) with state funding from the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare.
Body established under 2021 law
Tsiartas explained that the National Coordinating Body was established in 2022 under the provisions of the Law on the Prevention and Combating of Violence against Women and Domestic Violence of 2021. The body designs and promotes measures, actions and policies aimed at the prevention and effective handling of gender-based violence at a national level.
Training, awareness and digital tools
To date, the body has delivered specialist training to approximately 200 frontline professionals from the fields of health, education, social policy and justice, and is planning to train around 100 police officers across Cyprus in the immediate period ahead. It is also implementing public awareness and information campaigns on gender-based violence, the rights of those affected and available support services.
Tsiartas also noted the body's contribution to the promotion of the ELPIS application, described as "an innovative technological tool that provides persons affected by violence with the ability to communicate immediately and discreetly with police authorities in situations of danger."
Unified database by 2027
The body is also advancing the creation of a Unified Database on gender-based and domestic violence, expected to be completed by 2027. Tsiartas stated that the database will improve the recording of incidents and enable the development of more targeted prevention and protection policies. He added that it will also contribute to the systematic monitoring of femicides, which he noted has now been established as a distinct criminal offence under the implementing framework of the Istanbul Convention.
Free legal aid for survivors
Tsiartas highlighted that since 2024, amended legislation has been in force under which survivors of gender-based and domestic violence are recognised as a distinct category of beneficiaries of free legal aid. The framework provides for free legal representation in compensation claims, proceedings relating to parental responsibility, contact and child maintenance, and the issuing of protection orders.
"This amendment removes significant financial and procedural barriers faced by survivors of violence and substantially strengthens their access to justice and the protection of their rights," he stated.
The body also promotes the pan-European support line 116016 for survivors of gender-based violence, provides financial support to non-governmental organisations and supports the operation of the 24-hour helpline of the Association for the Prevention and Handling of Violence in the Family.
