A Dispute Erupts in the Cyprus Parliament over Amendments to the Law on Protection of Women from Violence

During a parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee session on Wednesday, a heated debate arose over a bill aimed at combating violence against women. The controversy centered on proposed amendments to the definitions of “sex” and “woman”.

The amendments were introduced by MPs Chrysis Pantelidis (DIKO) and Haris Georgiadis (DISY), who argued that the changes are necessary to align national legislation with EU Directive 2024/1385 and the Istanbul Convention.

However, the discussion quickly turned into a sharp dispute. ELAM MP Sotiris Ioannou stated that “common sense has been lost,” while Alexandra Attalidu (Volt) called the proposal “an attack on the rights of transgender people.”

According to her, both the EU directive and the Istanbul Convention explicitly provide protection for transgender and intersex women from discrimination. “Protecting women cannot be achieved by depriving others of their rights,” Attalidu emphasized.

Pogo women’s movement representative Eleni Evagoru criticized the very motivation for the amendments, noting that real issues for women are linked to insufficient state support and barriers in the judicial system.

Evagoru added that over the past ten years, only one transgender person has sought assistance from gender violence services, and “there is no social basis for inciting conflict.”

According to Accept–LGBTQI Cyprus representative Stefanos Evangelidis, the proposed amendments are legally incompatible with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and could lead to consequences from the Council of Europe if adopted.