AKEL meeting with organisations and bodies working on women’s rights and equality

 

15 October 2026, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

The AKEL Central Committee’s Bureau for Gender Equality and Equity held a meeting with organisations and bodies active in the fields of gender equality, women’s rights and human rights.

Representing AKEL at the meeting were MPs who sit on the Parliamentary Committees on Human Rights and Equal Opportunities between Men and Women, and on the Legal Affairs, Justice and Public Order Committee, Christos Christofides, Argentoula Ioannou and Anastasia Hasikou, the Head of the Bureau for Gender Equality and Equity, Eleni Evagorou, and the Head of the Human Rights Bureau of the Central Committee of AKEL, Marina Savva.

The organisations’ statements highlighted serious gaps, delays and problems in the implementation of policies and legislation. Particular emphasis was placed on the need to protect and support victims of gender-based and sexual violence, to provide legal aid, to address delays in the administration of justice, to provide housing and financial support for victims, and to establish effective accountability mechanisms.

The discussion also covered the prevention of sexual violence and the implementation of safeguarding standards in sport, access to sexual and reproductive health, sex education, the need to protect women and underage girls from conflict zones, the fight against human trafficking, the need for gender-responsive budgeting, and the need to promote the National Strategy for LGBTQI+ people.

The AKEL Central Committee’s Bureau for Gender Equality and Equity will compile the issues raised, with the aim of promoting them through political, parliamentary and, where necessary, legislative initiatives.