Cyprus has launched a digital platform designed to guide victims of domestic and gender-based violence through the country’s support services, as official figures show thousands of complaints filed in recent years.
The Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies (MIGS) unveiled PHAROS (www.pharos.cy) at a press conference on Thursday, describing it as a single, easily accessible point for information on legal rights, support services and available resources for women experiencing violence in the Republic of Cyprus.
The figures underline the scale of the problem: 2,098 complaints of domestic violence were recorded in the two-year period 2024–2025, while 1,667 complaints of violence against women were filed in the three-year period 2023–2025.
Daphne Dimitriou, researcher and programme coordinator at MIGS, presented the platform, noting it is currently available in Greek and English.
The platform is divided into two levels, Dimitriou explained. The first is for users who need immediate help; the second for those who suspect they are in an abusive environment and are seeking information. “I can confirm this for myself or for another person,” she said.
Users in immediate danger are offered the option to call 112 for police or 1440 for SPAVO directly from the platform. A permanent emergency exit button is available throughout the site to prevent an abuser from detecting its use, alongside instructions for clearing browsing history.
The platform also includes a “find help” section divided into police, Social Welfare Services and SPAVO, as well as a resource directory listing 48 organisations with their contact details.
Among the warning signs highlighted on the platform are questions such as whether a partner controls or takes a victim’s salary, whether they use physical violence, whether they systematically belittle or humiliate, whether they threaten to take the children, or whether they coerce the victim into sexual acts.
Before its official launch, the platform was piloted and evaluated by women who have experienced or are experiencing violence, people close to them, and frontline professionals, with their feedback incorporated into the final version.
Aristos Tsiartas, president of the national coordinating body for the prevention and combating of violence against women at the Justice Ministry, said the platform addresses one of the most critical rights of gender-based violence victims: the right to timely, reliable and accessible information, as guaranteed by the Istanbul Convention and national law.
“In an often complex and discouraging system, the PHAROS platform acts as a reference point,” Tsiartas said. “It brings together information on support services, referral pathways and key procedures, helping women experiencing gender-based violence to find proper guidance, seek help and exercise their rights with safety and dignity. At the same time, the platform is a valuable and reliable tool for frontline professionals.”
Souzana Pavlou, president of MIGS, said access to information is not a luxury but a right, and a precondition for safety, dignity and empowerment.
“We cannot talk about protecting women when information remains fragmented, difficult to access or unknown to those who need it most,” Pavlou said. “In conditions of violence, the lack of timely and clear information can mean delay, isolation or even danger.”
The platform was developed to fill that gap and strengthen women’s right to information as enshrined in both national legislation and the Istanbul Convention, she added.