PROTECTION TO WOMEN VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE AMONG ISSUES CLARIFIED AS COMMITTEE CONCLUDES CONSIDERING REPORT OF CYPRUS
Press Release
WOM/886
PROTECTION TO WOMEN VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE AMONG ISSUES CLARIFIED AS COMMITTEE CONCLUDES CONSIDERING REPORT OF CYPRUS
19960123 New legislation to give better protection to women victims of violence was adopted in Cyprus in 1994, that country's representative told the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this morning.Replying to questions which had been posed by the 23-member Committee during its examination of the combined and initial report of Cyprus on 16 January, Maro Varnavidou, Secretary-General of the National Machinery for Women's Rights, said some of the laws in her country were enshrined in a very old penal code which was being studied with a view to bring about change. She added that lectures on the country's new family law had been organized in the police academy to sensitize officers to the rights of women.
The trafficking of women, the legal age for marriage, grounds for divorce, division of matrimonial property, and efforts to eliminate sexist stereotypes were among issues clarified as the Committee completed consideration of the report concerning implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Also this morning, experts discussed the Committee's programme of work, relations with specialized agencies, and the drafting of a suggestion to be sent to the Preparatory Committee of the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II).
The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. today to hear a statement by the Director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women. It will also hear Paraguay's response to questions by Committee experts.
Response by Cyprus
MARO VARNAVIDOU, Secretary-General and Administrative Officer of the National Machinery for Women's Rights, said the Government tried to present a factual account of the situation of Cypriot women and did not want to hide anything. Clarifying a section in the report concerning women's entry into the labour market after 1974, she said they were not forced to participate, but they had not been properly trained.
Regarding a question on population and the amount of territory occupied by Turkish forces, she said that according to 1994 statistics, the population in the government-controlled area was 633,900 people. It was not possible to give an exact figure of the population in the territory under Turkish military occupation. Before 1974, Turkish Cypriots constituted 18 per cent of the population. Responding to what was pointed out as inconsistent figures used in the report -- 37 per cent and 40 per cent -- to indicate the amount of territory occupied by Turkish military forces, she explained that 40 per cent was an approximation of 37 per cent. As to the use of the word "invasion" in the report, the term would be replaced by "occupation" in future reports since this was the term used by the United Nations.
In response to a comment that the Committee was concerned about the situation of Turkish Cypriot women, she said that the Government shared the concern about the rights of women living in occupied areas. Unfortunately, the Government had no access to the area and it was not possible to provide assistance to Turkish Cypriot women. Solving the political problem would benefit Turkish Cypriot women as well. Non-governmental organizations had taken initiatives to meet with those women, but meetings were not permitted to take place. The only chance was meetings abroad and in Beijing at the Fourth World Conference on Women; the Government did meet some Turkish Cypriot women through a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) funded organization.
She said all women could go to court and invoke the articles of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women by provisions of the Constitution. Regarding questions on the national machinery for women's rights, she said it consisted of a large number of organizations and government officials of various ministries. The Government paid for the Secretariat expenses and the cost of programmes and activities, including the subsidization of non-governmental organizations. The total budget was difficult to determine but the programme budget was about 8 per cent of the budget of the Ministry of Justice.
In response to a question on why equality officers were no longer permanent members of the national machinery, she said that the decision had been taken to increase effectiveness and flexibility. While they were no longer permanent members, equality officers did participate in the national machinery when issues of their area of expertise were discussed.
Women Anti-Discrimination Committee - 3 - Press Release WOM/886 296th Meeting (AM) 23 January 1996
Regarding the legal powers of the national machinery, she said it was an advisory structure which could propose new legislation. It usually set up ad hoc committees which studied new laws and gave recommendations to the Government. The Chairman was the Minister of Justice. Representatives of women's organizations and individual experts participate in the committees. Representatives were usually invited by the Government to comment on bills before them.
On article 4 of the Convention to accelerate women's equality through special temporary measures, she said that at the moment, a special committee had been set up to promote higher participation of women in the Government. With the forthcoming parliamentary elections in May, the committee was trying to include more women as candidates. It had contact with the media to give candidates publicity. It would support candidates and approach voters. Temporary measures in the form of quotas were not being discussed at the moment. One political party was using quotas. Although participation of women in politics was very low in the House of Parliament, there had been an improvement at the local level. The participation of women had grown from about 14 per cent in 1986 to the current level of 17.5 per cent.
With regard to the participation of women in the civil service, she said there had never been any discrimination between the sexes on pay scales. All public positions were open to women and men. Although participation was still unsatisfactory, there had been improvement -- 10.1 per cent at the higher level compared to 8.5 per cent in 1981. As to segregation in the labour market and measures to change the situation, she said that the Government believed that the educational system could play a more important role. Career guidance had been improved. There was also a policy in the Ministry of Education to encourage more women in technical occupations.
Regarding the removal of attitudes and stereotypes that threatened women's equality, she said that the emphasis was on changing such attitudes through education and the media. There was also a special programme for rural women.
On violence against women, she said new legislation was adopted in 1994, which gave full protection to the victims. By increasing the penalties of such crimes it relayed the message that they were unacceptable and should be punished severely. There had been an increase in the number of reported incidents of domestic violence: 185 cases in 1983, and 195 in 1984. There was no data available on the sentences that had been imposed, but the information would be presented in the next report. The Welfare Department was responsible for the care of victims. The Association for the Handling and Prevention of Domestic Violence operated a centre and shelter for women and children, and both were funded partially by the Government. The Association also ran a telephone help-line. Victims could get first aid, legal
Women Anti-Discrimination Committee - 4 - Press Release WOM/886 296th Meeting (AM) 23 January 1996
information and psychological support and the services were greatly appreciated by women.
Under article 6, which requires States parties to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution, an expert had questioned if the abduction of unmarried women was less serious than married women. Ms. Varnavidou said that this was part of a very old penal code which was being studied with a view to changing it in the future.
Regarding the trafficking of women, she said that during the last five years, 28 cases had been filed before the court, 10 had been tried, one was pending, 12 had no evidence produced, and five had been withdrawn. The authorities had taken strict measures against the crime. The Government was trying to make legal measures effective by limiting the issuance of visas, and checking the contracts and conditions of employment in cabarets. The police investigated complaints about involuntary activities. However, the collection of evidence for the purpose of prosecution was a big problem so it was difficult to bring those cases to court. A new bill was currently before the House of Representatives which aimed to regulate the professions of artists, agents, entertainers, and to protect the rights of related employees. Cabarets would be required to get licenses and artists would be required to present proof of professional qualifications and a clean police record. The artists must remain in the place of work until the closing time of the establishment. If an entertainer reported that she was being harassed to enter into an illegal activity, the police could intervene. The place of residence of entertainers would also be subject to checks. The problem was serious and authorities were trying to prevent the trafficking and prostitution of women.
On article 8, which provides that women shall be given opportunity to represent their government at all international levels, she said no special measures had been taken to assist women diplomats in fulfilling their family and work responsibilities. However, several steps had been taken to enable women, in general, to fulfil both obligations. In addition, parental leave without pay was available to those in the civil service.
Commenting on article 11, which obliges States to eliminate discrimination against women in employment, and to prevent discrimination on the grounds of marriage and maternity, she said special facilities had been provided to encourage women to join the work force. Government provided 50 per cent of the cost of construction of child-care facilities. The Government had never discriminated on remuneration. Answering a question on whether the employment of disabled women had been promoted, she said vocational training and financial assistance for self employment had been provided to both disabled men and women.
Women Anti-Discrimination Committee - 5 - Press Release WOM/886 296th Meeting (AM) 23 January 1996
Addressing the issue of part-time employment of women, she said very few women worked in part-time jobs since unemployment was very low. Persons working less than 30 hours a week were considered to be part-time workers. In 1992, 5.5 per cent women had been part-time workers. The Government was active retraining women who lost their jobs; the unemployment rate was below 3 per cent.
In 1985, 40 per cent of women in services were gainfully employed, she said. In 1994, the number had risen to 60 per cent. The right to work of both men and women was recognized and the Government wanted to encourage more women to get into the labour market. Retirement age for both the sexes was 63 years. Women participated in trade unions but their representation at higher levels remained low. Cyprus had ratified the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention on equal remuneration for work of equal value. The Ministry of Labour was working towards the provision of equal remuneration for work of equal value but of different nature, and trade union workers were being trained in the concept. The national machinery and women's organizations had sought to set up equal opportunity commissions to implement laws on equal remuneration so that women who claimed discrimination could get legal aid.
Speaking on sexual harassment, she said open discussion on the subject had started only in recent years, including in the Parliament. A special subcommittee had been set up to investigate how it could be remedied, whether new laws were needed and whether the penal code ought to be changed. The obligations of trade unions and the work place to provide a harassment free atmosphere had also been discussed. It had been concluded that a new law on harassment ought to be enacted.
Addressing questions relating to article 12, which deals with eliminating discrimination in the field of health, she said about 75 per cent of the population had been provided with treatment, expenditure for which was borne by the Government. Such treatment covered outpatient treatment and sophisticated operations. No one, man or woman, was discriminated in that regard. The report submitted by Cyprus had covered only public expenditure.
It was the obligations of health-care personnel to report on cases of violence, she said. The victim was not required under law to go directly to report violence. She or he could do so through the family counsellor, the doctor or the police.
Contraceptives were readily available, cheap and widely used, she said. In some instances those could be provided free of charge. Major causes of death among women were heart disease and cancer. That was why the Ministry of Health had provided a programme for early detection of cancer. Sex education had been provided in schools and was compulsory. It started in primary school and had been integrated in the school curriculum since 1992. It was not known
Women Anti-Discrimination Committee - 6 - Press Release WOM/886 296th Meeting (AM) 23 January 1996
as sex education but was a part of a broader programme which included such information as smoking and AIDS.
On article 14, concerning rural women, she said, a question had been asked about the number and amount of loans available to them. She clarified that there was no legal barrier for women to own land. Information on the number and amount of loans taken by women was not ready accessible to her. However, 29 per cent of all borrowers were women according to the Department of Agriculture and the number was steadily increasing. The idea of creating a separate bank for women had not been considered at this point. Most of the rural women were engaged in crop and livestock production and 45 per cent of the total population employed in agriculture were women. However, the importance of agriculture was diminishing and currently it was 6.2 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
Agro-tourism was gradually gaining ground in Cyprus, she said. Due to the fear that women would be relegated to a subordinate role in agro-tourism, women's cooperatives were being encouraged. Rural women employed in agriculture were fully covered by social security. The self-employed were the only category of people excluded from the benefits. The exclusion was against the European Community laws and it was a priority of the Ministry of Labour to change the law.
On article 16, on equality of women's rights in matters relating to marriage and family relations, she said, lectures had been organized on family law, legislation on employment, pension and violence. Legal literacy among women had been stressed. Though judges had not been trained in the new family law, which took effect in 1990, they had been the first to identify the unfair treatment of women and had pressed for change. As regards training of other officials on the new family law, lectures in the police academy were being given on violence against women.
On alimony, she said that if the spouse seeking alimony could not support him/herself on his/her own income or property, then alimony could be sought, even if the spouse was at fault for the divorce. If a spouse was healthy, there was a period of three years to get training and start earning an income. There were no provisions in the legal system regarding common law marriages; children born of such marriages were considered to be born out of wedlock.
Replying to a question on why the Government had promoted the idea of having special family courts for religious groups, she said it was pursued in accordance with article 11 of the Constitution which gave minority groups the freedom to decide on matters within the family. The legislature was designed to respect the identity of special groups. As to the grounds for divorce, she said most were provided for in the Charter of the Church before the adoption of the new family laws, and included adultery, desertion, violence and
Women Anti-Discrimination Committee - 7 - Press Release WOM/886 296th Meeting (AM) 23 January 1996
insanity. But the Constitution added a new ground reflecting the new idea that if marriage was unbearable, divorce could be sought.
Regarding the division of matrimonial property following divorce, she said each of the spouses could claim their portion of the property according to his/her share of contribution. If the spouse could not provide any evidence of his/her share of the property, he/she was entitled to one third of the property. If evidence could be provided that a spouse contributed 100 per cent, then he/she could obtain everything. However, the crucial new provision said that housework and the upbringing of children was considered a contribution. So, it was not merely a matter of financial contributions.
The age of marriage, according to the laws of the State, was 18 years for both men and women, she said. The State recognized only the family courts. No divorce from religious courts had any validity before the State; however, the Church did not recognize the decisions of the State courts in this matter. In the case of remarriage in the Church, one had to go through both court systems.
Statement by Committee Chairman
The Chairman of the Committee, IVANKA CORTI, expert from Italy, thanked the representative of Cyprus for her extensive answers, which she said provided a clearer picture of the situation of Cypriot women. Interesting measures had been undertaken with regard to the decision-making process of the national machinery for women's rights. It seemed that the Government was following the examples of other countries which were more advanced in equality issues. In the Mediterranean countries, it was important to break the taboo that women were not able to participate in politics. While the removal of traditional obstacles was a very slow one, the Government of Cyprus had started to deal with violence against women, and victims were guaranteed full protection. A telephone hotline had been established. However, more information was needed about the full protection of victims of domestic violence.
As far as the penal code was concerned, she said it appeared that the national machinery was very involved in the removal of obstacles to women's enjoyment of rights. The Government had emphasized combating the trafficking of women. Geographically, it appeared that Cyprus was on the crossroads of the traffic and transit of women. While measures had been taken to block the phenomena, she said further efforts should be taken by the police and also through education. Women were sometimes forced into prostitution by force and women should be supported through education and encouraged to enter into the labour market, as Cyprus did not have serious unemployment problems like other European countries.
Women Anti-Discrimination Committee - 8 - Press Release WOM/886 296th Meeting (AM) 23 January 1996
The new law on sexual harassment was a step forward, she said. It was also interesting that rural women could obtain special loans for women's cooperatives. Cyprus, through the national machinery, was doing its best to achieve equality. The Committee's concluding comments could be very helpful to its Government.
Discussion of Committee's Organization of Work
The Chairman of the Committee, said Ms. CORTI, of Italy, said there was not enough time for the work of the Working Groups, adding that they should consider working in small drafting groups composed of one or two members to prepare documents. An expert said the Committee seemed to have more time for in-depth discussions of reports. Work should not be rushed. The recommendations were taken very seriously within the United Nations, especially the recommendation on violence against women. Emphasis should be placed next week on the concluding comments.
Another expert expressed support for focusing on the concluding comments. Speaking as Chairman of Working Group II, which deals with implementation of article 21 of the Convention, she said progress was being made. The article provides that the Committee may make suggestions and general recommendations based on the examination of reports and information received from States parties. By the end of the session, she said an initial draft recommendation on article 7 -- which states that women shall share on equal terms with men in the political and public life of the country -- should be ready. It could be translated into the working languages of all experts. The draft recommendation on article 8, which deals with women's participation in Governments at the international level, would follow from article 7.
Another expert, speaking as Chairman of Working Group I, which is devoted to suggesting ways to expedite the work of the Committee, said progress was being made on the rules of procedure. Work should continue and a complete proposal should be ready for the next session. The Working Group required the comments of experts of various regions; specialized agencies should be contacted for support in preparing preliminary drafts for general recommendations regarding articles 11 and 12 of the Convention, which deal with employment and health.
The Committee Chairman reminded the experts that the specialized agencies had been invited to the forthcoming meeting of the chairmen of treaty bodies. Regarding the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) she said treaty bodies had prepared a document and the Committee had been urged by several non-governmental organizations to prepare a suggestion about Habitat II because issues concerning women were mentioned in only one paragraph of the draft text. There should be a joint delegation of all treaty
Women Anti-Discrimination Committee - 9 - Press Release WOM/886 296th Meeting (AM) 23 January 1996
bodies to attend Habitat II. Perhaps Working Group II could draft a suggestion for women's rights to be considered as human rights under Habitat II.
Several experts said they would be glad to make a contribution to Habitat II. The Chairman said the paper should be prepared during the current session to be sent to the Preparatory Committee of Habitat II.
An expert said she had contacted the ILO and had prepared a small paper dealing with cooperation with the Committee. Another expert volunteered to prepare a working paper on the rights of the child and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
An expert asked said the 1995 Human Development Report of UNDP contained excellent information that could be used by the Committee. She recommended that ways be explored to form a formal working relationship with the Programme. Another expert said that the proposal to make a subgroup in Working Group I was a good idea to consider the issue of relations with specialized agencies.
* *** *