Political pressure on the Cypriot government has increased following a Channel 4 undercover report into the labour and sexual exploitation of women in Ayia Napa, with DISY MP Rita Superman accusing the state of systemic failure and corruption.
Superman claimed on Friday that the Christodoulides administration is attempting to downplay the crisis by “hiding the issue of human trafficking under the carpet” rather than protecting vulnerable victims.
The outcry follows the release of the documentary, Untold: Undercover Working Holidays, which exposed nightclub managers demanding sexual favours from young British women in exchange for seasonal work. Superman described the footage as an insult to the country, arguing that the government’s recent decision to transfer the coordination of anti-trafficking efforts from the Interior Ministry to the Deputy Ministry of Migration—rather than the Ministry of Justice—will have “catastrophic consequences.” She called for profound structural reforms to tackle potential collusion and corruption that allow such exploitation to persist.
Joining the condemnation, the DISY women’s organisation (GODISY) branded the revelations “offensive and infuriating,” demanding that the Deputy Ministry of Migration ensure no female worker remains trapped in trafficking rings. These statements follow similar warnings from the trade union PEO and the POGO Women’s Movement, both of whom have highlighted the “modern slavery” conditions faced by young women in the resort. The political opposition argues that the state’s apparent indifference sends a message of impunity to predatory employers, further damaging the international reputation of Cyprus as a safe tourist destination.
As the Police continue an ex officio investigation, Ayia Napa Mayor Christos Zannettou has attempted to distance the town’s image from what he calls “isolated incidents.” While the Mayor has pledged to shut down the squalid housing identified in the documentary, he has also pointed to the legal vulnerability of British workers who lack post-Brexit work permits.
However, Superman insisted that administrative status does not absolve the state of its responsibility to protect human dignity, urging the government to stop downgrading the issue and to treat the protection of victims as a matter of urgent national importance.
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