Rape committed during the summer of 1974 by Turkish forces during the invasion of Cyprus remained hidden for decades, treated as a taboo because of the social stigma surrounding it. The women who were attacked carried, and continue to carry, the trauma of that violence throughout their lives.
It is estimated that around 700 women were raped. That figure covers those who gave testimony. Others chose not to inform the state or give statements to the Red Cross.
A recent report by the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, known as FEMM, has brought renewed focus to the issue through research and the recording of testimonies. The initiative came from MEP Loucas Fourlas, of DISY and the EPP, who recently handed the report to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. In doing so, he said that “the victims of sexual violence during the invasion deserve justice, recognition and support from the international community”. He travelled to New York as a member of the FEMM delegation during the 70th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
The report followed a visit to Cyprus by a delegation made up of MEPs Eleonora Meleti, Loucas Fourlas, Anna Maria Cisint and Laurence Trochu. Giorgos Georgiou also took part. The delegation visited Cyprus from May 26 to 28, 2025, and held a series of meetings. The most harrowing were those held behind closed doors with women who had been raped by Turkish forces. The next step, according to information made public, is the submission of a resolution to the European Parliament plenary.
According to the report, “the mission shed light on the long-overlooked consequences of the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, with a particular focus on conflict-related sexual violence and its enduring impact on Cypriot society. Through powerful interventions and testimonies from activists, researchers, civil society leaders, and public officials, the delegation witnessed the resilience of women who endured violence, displacement, and decades of silence.”
The report says the need for justice, recognition and reparative measures remains urgent. It adds that Cyprus, as the last divided member state of the European Union, must be fully supported in its efforts to document, acknowledge and address the suffering of its citizens, especially women victims, in line with EU values and international obligations arising from instruments such as the Istanbul Convention.
The delegation backed calls for a European Parliament resolution recognising the impact of the occupation on Cypriot women and the crimes committed during the 1974 invasion, as well as their consequences for gender equality. The committee said such a resolution would be a critical step in making those crimes visible at EU level and in advancing truth, accountability and solidarity with the victims.
It also supported a proposal for a parliamentary question to the European Commission, asking it to state its official position on crimes committed by Turkish forces against civilians in Cyprus.
The report also stresses that the EU should ensure women who survived conflict-related violence in all member states receive justice, recognition and access to remedies, and that their stories are incorporated into Europe’s collective memory. “The silence surrounding these women must end, not only in Cyprus but wherever war has tried to erase their voices,” the report says.
During its visit, the delegation held meetings with House President Annita Demetriou, former MP and POGO secretary-general Skevi Koukouma, and Gender Equality Commissioner Josie Christodoulou, who was accompanied by Niovi Paraskevi Georgiadi.
Demetriou said that five decades later the wounds remain deeply felt, not only through the physical and demographic consequences of the 1974 occupation, but also through the lasting psychological, social and cultural scars left on Cypriot society. She stressed the importance of truth, justice and memory as pillars of national reconciliation and healing. She said efforts to record testimonies, promote historical awareness and support victims must continue, not only as a duty to the past but as a guarantee for the future. In that context, she expressed support for a monument in Nicosia for women victims of sexual violence.
Koukouma, then secretary-general of the Pancyprian Federation of Women’s Organisations, or POGO, who was the first to raise the issue in parliament, described the sacrifice made by Cypriot women and the path towards official recognition by the Cyprus government. She told members of the delegation that it took 41 years, until 2015, for the issue to be discussed officially in the Cypriot parliament, when she was an MP.
Christodoulou, Cyprus’ Commissioner for Gender Equality, presented key legislative measures introduced since the 1974 Turkish invasion in relation to sexual violence and women’s rights. She referred to Cyprus’ ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, known as the Istanbul Convention, which entered into force in the country on May 1, 2018.
The delegation also met researcher and author Chrysanthos Chrysanthou, who referred among other things to his two-volume book The other war of the doctors in 1974. His research documented cases of rape involving women of all ages, including underage girls, mothers and elderly women, as well as boys. Many women were subjected to brutal and repeated rape and beatings.
The FEMM committee also met Aliki Hadjigeorgiou, president of the non-profit foundation Zoe vs War Violence, vice-president Natasha Freiderikou and secretary-general Rita Karatzia.
According to the report, the foundation’s leadership said that among the many tragedies caused by the invasion, the experiences of Cypriot women remain among the least recognised. Women were affected in multiple and devastating ways: as refugees, mothers, widows and survivors of violence. Yet for decades their suffering remained largely invisible, both in Cyprus and internationally. The trauma they endured, especially trauma linked to sexual violence, forced displacement and the destruction of daily life, was rarely discussed in public and was often silenced by shame, fear or social norms. That silence, the report says, was made worse by the lack of institutional recognition and support in Cyprus.
A key point raised during the meetings was that the use of rape after the invasion was not a random or isolated act, but was documented as a strategic weapon of intimidation and ethnic cleansing used against Greek Cypriots.
The consequences of the 1974 war for women were grouped into five categories.
The first was refugee women, who lost homes and property. Many also lost their dowries, affecting their future prospects, including marriage.
The second was widows and women who lost husbands or other family members. They were forced to raise children alone and often felt unable to express personal grief or trauma because others had died and they were expected to remain strong.
The third was women with missing husbands or fiancés. They were trapped in uncertainty, unable either to grieve or to move on with their lives. Any attempt to rebuild was seen as betrayal.
The fourth was enclaved women who remained in occupied areas and were subjected to repeated rape, humiliation and intimidation while living through the steady reduction of the Greek Cypriot presence in their villages.
The fifth was women who were raped and often never disclosed the assault, not even to their husbands, living silently and in secrecy. Some were sent abroad by their families because of shame and stigma.