The material posted here was provided to the Division for the Advancement of Women by the Government in response to the Secretary-General's Questionnaire on Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. It has been made available in electronic format from the form received. In cases where it was not possible to reproduce charts and tables supplied, these can be obtained by contacting the Division for the Advancement of Women directly.
CYPRUS
Cyprus National Report on the Implementatio of the Beijing Platform for Action
Nicosia, Cyprus 1999Prepared by
Maro Varnavidou
Secretary-General
National Machinery for Women’s Rights
Ministry of Justice and Public Order and
Maria Roussou (Ph.D)
(Hon. Research Fellow University of London, Institute of Education International Development Unit )CONTENTS
1.1 Overview of trends in achieving gender equality and women's advancement
1.2 Country priorities in terms of the critical areas of concern of the Platform of Action.
a) Women in Politics and Decision Making
PART TWO: FINANCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL MEASURES
2.5 Research on Women's Issues
PART THREE: THE TWELVE CRITICAL AREAS OF CONCERN
3.1 Introductory remarks on methodology followed
3.2 The Twelve Critical Areas of Concern
II. Education and Training of Women
VII. Women in Power and Decision-making
VIII. Institutional Mechanisms for the Advancement of Women
Statistical information on:
On behalf of the Government of Cyprus I present to the United Nations the Cyprus response to the "Beijing Platform for Action on Women".
This report has been drafted by the National Machinery for Women's Rights in close collaboration with Government Departments and Non-Governmental Organisations.
It includes a brief but comprehensive review and assessment of the progress achieved and the obstacles encountered in implementing the twelve Critical Areas of Concern of the Platform of Action.
I regret to state once more, that due to the political problem caused by the Turkish invasion in 1974, the continuing occupation and the control of 37% of the territory of the Republic by the Turkish military forces the Government has no access and is prevented from applying its policies and programmes to the occupied part of the island. Thus all information and data collated in this report concern the Government controlled areas.
The Government of Cyprus expresses its readiness and willingness to continue its close collaboration with the international community towards achieving full legal and real Equality between Women and Men.
Nikos Koshis
Minister of Justice and Public Order
This report is presented to the United Nations by the Government of Cyprus as a brief but comprehensive review which contains a factual assessment on the status of women in the Republic of Cyprus with special reference to the implementation of the Platform for Action since its adoption in Beijing in 1995.
For our report we followed the guidelines given by the United Nations questionnaire which has been specially designed to obtain information from Governments and to facilitate national reporting on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action.
The information supplied has been compiled for the comprehensive review and assessment that is expected to take place at the UN offices and which will be submitted by the Secretary- General to the Commission on the Status of Women at its forty-fourth session in the year 2000, and to the special session of the General Assembly to be held at the United Nations HQ, New York in June 2000.
Our report draws on a variety of sources of information and statistics available to the National Machinery for Women's Rights (NMWR), set up by the Government of Cyprus in 1988 and which commissioned this report. Among the major sources used are Governmental Departments, Academic Institutions, NGOs and individuals who responded to this questionnaire.
Every effort has been made to show progress and shortfalls. We provide an indication of areas where further actions and initiatives within the framework of the Platform for Action might be most urgent. Suggestions for further actions and initiatives on gender equality and advancement of women beyond the year 2000, that might be considered by the Government of Cyprus during the next 5 or 6 years are included in the last section «Concluding Remarks: Looking forward to an even better Future». These have been collated from meetings and public debates with NGOs, and activities of relevant agencies and groups since 1995.
The National Action Plan of the Republic of Cyprus was designed to implement the Beijing Platform for Action, according to local needs and potential for development and progress according to the realities of 1995. The Government’s major commitments under this Plan were:
The information we provide here is more qualitative than quantitative in nature. However, we have also updated quantitative information given in our National Report to the 4th World Conference on Women (Beijing 1995), as desegregated by sex and age, and we report on indicators used at the national level to monitor activities for gender equality and advancement of women (see Appendix).
The report consists of three parts:
Part One provides an analytical overview of trends and experiences in the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in Cyprus. This overall picture highlights major achievements and obstacles encountered since the Beijing Platform for Action was adopted by the Government of Cyprus in 1995 and the National Plan of Action was prepared and distributed.
Part Two focuses on overall implementation in relation to the Cyprus National Action Plan and in particular, on resource allocations and institutional arrangements.
Part three of the report focuses specifically on implementation in the twelve Critical Areas of concern of the Platform for Action. In this Part, the report describes policies, programmes and projects which have been undertaken to implement the Platform for Action including, for example, legislation, positive action measures, development of new or improved services and/or awareness raising.
Finally, we indicate new commitments made to further implement the Platform for Action and the vision we hold for Cypriot women's advancement and gender equality in our country in the next millennium.
1. Overview of trends in achieving gender equality and women's advancement:
Here we follow the guidelines given, the numbering of questions and layout of the questionnaire. This is a brief analytical overview of trends in our country in the efforts of the Government of Cyprus to implement the Beijing Platform for Action. This overview or broad picture describes the Policies of the Republic of Cyprus with regard to achieving the goal of equality between women and men and is linked to our National Action Plan and other strategies. Our response addresses in brief in Part One the following questions:
A. Government Commitments
At the Beijing Conference, the Government of Cyprus reaffirmed its commitment to promote legal and real Equality between Women and Men in all walks of life and in particular to pursue the following measures:
(a) To reinforce the National Machinery for Women's Rights both in terms of budgeting, human resources and status within the Government, so as to enable it to effectively fulfil its task,
(b) To study the possibility of creating an Equal Opportunity Commission which will take on board cases of discrimination against women,
(c) To encourage and promote the full and active participation of women at all levels of the political and decision-making processes, and
(d) To cooperate closely with the European Union on Women's issues, as part of the process of Cyprus` accession to the European Union.
B. National Plan of Action
Based on the above commitments as well the wider framework of strategies and guidelines included in the Beijing Platform of Action, the Government, through the National Machinery, has formulated its National Plan of Action which, in concrete terms, covers the following areas:
C. Beijing Platform of Action
Since the adoption of the Beijing Platform of Action in 1995, a series of legal measures as well as practical programmes have been pursued in all the above areas with many positive results which will be described in the relevant chapters.
As a first step, the Platform for Action has been translated, by the National Machinery, into Greek and distributed free of charge to all Government departments, NGO´S, academics, students and interested individuals.
D. Progress/Achievements
Law Reform aiming at the elimination of the few remaining discriminatory provisions as well as the safeguarding of women's rights and their protection in all fields of Cyprus legislation, continues to be considered of primary importance.
The Ministry of Justice and Public Order, through the National Machinery, plays a key role in this area, by
The Ministry of Justice and Public Order is pursuing Law Reform in close collaboration with the Attorney General of the Republic, the Law Commissioner, the Parliamentary Legal Committee, Women's Organisations and Trade Unions as well as all other Ministries and Departments which continue to be primarily responsible for the promotion of legal equality within their own sphere of competence.
During the period under review, a number of a new Law Reform Committees have been set up to study matters relating to Family Courts and Causes for Divorce,
Domestic Violence, Civil Marriage, Family Mediation, Sexual Harassment, Trafficking and Exploitation of Women and Children.
As a result of their work a number of bills have already been drafted and/or have been pursued to the House of Representatives including the bill on the Exploitation of Persons (Special Protection) Law, which is now before the Attorney's General Office for final examination, and the Amendment bill on Violence in the Family (Prevention and Protection of Victims) Law, which is now before Parliament.
Technical Assistance
Besides legislative action the Government, through mainly the National Machinery for Women's Rights, has requested and secured experts´ advice from abroad on top priority issues such as the setting up of the Equal Opportunities Commission, the preparation of an Action Plan for Women's Participation in Politics, Training Programmes on Violence against Women, the promotion of Gender Mainstreaming in the Government Sector and the setting up of a Peace Village.
More specifically, the following Consultative missions/training programmes have been carried out/organised during the period under review, with the assistance/and or sponsorship of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the British Council and the Fulbright Commission:
(April 1997).
(May – June 1997).
(1998-99).
1.2. (ii) Country priorities in terms of the critical areas of concern of the Platform for Action
(a) Women in Politics and Decision Making:
The increase of participation of women in public and political life and especially at the decision making level has been identified as one of the priorities of the Government policy in the field of Equality.
The President of the Republic as well as Political Party Leaders and Women's Organisations have declared their full support to a further balancing out in women's participation in decision marking and politics in order to meet the goal of a minimum 30% representation of women before 2005, set by the Beijing Platform for Action.
Measures taken in this field include the:
This has become a top priority issue within the overall equality policy and thus a series of legal measures and practical programmes have been pursued during the last years in line with the UN Declaration. These measures include the:
Women of Cyprus suffering the tragic consequences of military conflict for 25 years are particularly sensitive on matters of human rights and peace.
Women's movement has been very active all these years in protesting against the illegal occupation through mass peaceful marches and in creating a culture of peace on the island through various activities including the promotion of bicommunal peaceful conflict resolution.
As a result of their growing consciousness and mobilisation on peace issues, the International Eco-Peace Village has been recently established focusing on the training and sensidization of Women and Youth on gender-equality, ecological and peace issues.
Part Two: Financial and Institutional Measures
The annual budget of the NMWR is part of the annual budget of the Ministry of Justice and Public Order. For 1999 it represents the 15,5% of the Ministry's Budget. Since 1995 the budget has been gradually increasing as follows:
In 1995 and 1996 it was CY£25.000 which doubled in 1997 to CY£50,000. In 1998 and 1999 it became CY£100,000 while in the new budget for 2000 there is a proposal for an even greater increase to reach CY£150,000.
This budget covers mainly the cost of programmes and activities undertaken by the NWMR (research, seminars, training, experts’ advice, publications) as well as the subsidies for relevant projects and activities undertaken by Women's Organisations, Academic Institutions and other Organisations. Thus the operational expenses and the compensation of the personnel working for the NMWR are covered by the General Budget of the Ministry.
We consider it important to note here that under the budgets of the various ministries there are many projects / activities addressing the special needs of women e.g. under the Ministry of Health comes the budget for the Breast Cancer Screening Programme; or there are other general projects which definitely benefit both Women and Men e.g. the «Introduction of New Technologies in Education from Primary school onwards» which is budgeted under the Ministry of Education and Culture.
The Planning Bureau is primarily responsible for the analysis, appraisal and impact assessment of government policies. Gender budget analysis, appraisal and impact assessment, have not been adopted as a standard process within the government sector but the NMWR is working towards this goal. For the first time in the new Five Year Development Plan (1999-2003) under the special chapter on Women and Development we succeeded in incorporating a provision for the introduction of a Gender Management System which will be the tool for the integration of women's issues into all government policies (mainstreaming).
Therefore, even though a gender mainstreaming strategy has not been adopted yet as the official approach to women's issues, the door is now open to elaborate on the matter, especially after a preparatory mission of two experts in May 1998.
As a priority, emphasis will be placed on the sensitization and training of government employees, in particular those involved in the formulation and evaluation of financial policies at all levels as well as the training of the Gender Focal Points, i.e. the Officers responsible for women's issues in all sectoral Ministries.
The major institutional structure promoting the integration of equality into all sectors of Government policies and programmes is the NMWR which will be described in detail under Part Three, Section VIII ( Institutional Mechanisms for the Advancement of Women).
Briefly we mention here that the NMWR acts as:
Due to that role and the links developed with departments and organisations, including the Department of Statistics and Research of the Ministry of Finance, the NMWR is in charge of the preparation of the National Reports under the U.N. Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) as well as other progress reports on equality issues.
- the Advisory Committee on Domestic Violence
- the Institution for the Protection of Human Rights
- the National Committee for the Family
- the National Committee for the Child
- the National Committee for Population and Development Issues
The Government of Cyprus through the NMWR encourages and supports research on Gender Issues, carried out by NGOs, Academic Institutions and individuals.
At the same time Institutions of Higher Education show great interest and promote research on Gender Issues which, besides the benefit of the scientific results, contributes towards the sensidization of young people on these issues.
One such piece of small scale research involved women entrepreneurs undertaken by the Intercollege. The findings of this research presents the average Cypriot woman entrepreneur as a person brought up in very comfortable financial conditions where at least one of her parents already had the experience of self - employment. The same factor, that the family had some financial freedom to put her through her studies usually abroad, and then to help her start her own business continues to be the strongest support, both financial and practical in terms of the upbringing of children and moral support. Domestic help is easier to find in the last decade since the influx of East Asian immigrant women as domestic helpers. Thus a group of Cypriot women with significant support from the family manage to overcome most ( but not all ) of the difficulties in coming out into the business world in a very male oriented society and profession
Part Three: The Twelve Critical Areas of Concern
3.1 Introductory remarks on Methodology followed
The material collected from various governmental departments and agencies as well as from academic institutions, NGOs and individuals have been collated here following the twelve areas of concern. Within each one of the twelve Critical Areas of Concern we followed the subheadings of Annex I of the proposed UN questionnaire as follows:
Each one of the above is addressed here according to what progress has been made since 1995 or what impediments the Government of Cyprus and Cypriot women (as groups or individuals) had to face since in their individual and/or group efforts to implement the Beijing Platform for Action.
We would like to remind the readership of this report that the principle of Equality between Men and Women and the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of gender is explicitly guaranteed in Article 28 of the 1960 Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus. In the last few years, as is widely recognised, the Government of Cyprus has made serious attempts to improve even more, the role and status of Cypriot women.
Apart from the gradually changing social perceptions, this has been achieved mainly through women’s increased participation in economic activity (as a result of high rates of economic growth and low unemployment rates), the expansion and up-dating of Family and Labour Law, the increased public awareness of women’s specific problems, and governmental policy for the promotion of equality in all aspects of life declared explicitly (as it was also declared in the previous National Development Plans since 1975) in the latest post Beijing National Development Plan of 1994-1998.
3.2 The twelve Critical Areas of Concern
I.1. Examples of successful policies, programmes and projects to implement the critical areas of concern of the Beijing Platform for Action. Here we indicate some targets and strategies set and related achievements.
In Cyprus, conditions of extreme poverty and standards of living, which are below the national average, are rather limited, while hunger and starvation have long been overcome. Therefore, poverty can be only identified in terms of what is locally perceived to be an acceptable standard of living.
The Department of Social Welfare Services of the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance provides family support programs aiming at preventing and/or alleviating the risks which lead to poverty and social exclusion, and at the same time encourages NGOs to operate family supportive programs at a local level. Also, the Government encourages women's participation in the labour market through a wide range of quality services such as day-care centres, home-care and residential care for children, the elderly and the disabled.
Female-headed households run a higher risk for poverty. Statistical information from recently conducted surveys in Cyprus revealed that female headed households bear an unequal share of the burden of poverty compared to those households headed by men. More specifically, although the proportion of female headed households is confined to 14%, however, their share among the poor households is of the order of 33%.
Single Mothers: In cases of single parenthood if the woman-mother and Head of household becomes unemployed the family reaches the poverty line. A considerable number from this group come from a refugee background with less possibilities of support from the extended family.
The Public Assistance and Services Law No 8/91 includes special provisions to support single parent families. The long-term goal being to promote human dignity and to help the family become independent from public funds:
In addition other measures benefit in particular this category of women, such as:
Rural women are considered to be a category with special problems, although they have benefited considerably from the various rural development programmes and they have access to all basic social services.
According to data obtained from the ‘Wages and Salary Survey’ of the Department of Statistics and Research, in 1997 the average hourly wages of agricultural labour force is still different between men and women. Thus the 1997 figures show that male agricultural workers receive CY pounds 3.37 while their female counterparts receive only CY pounds 2.18 per hour. This gap also existed in 1991 when male agricultural workers used to receive per hour of work one CY pound more than female workers. It is obvious that agricultural wages showed an increase over the period under review. It is also shown in the monthly male agricultural wages which have increased from 349.00 CY pounds in 1991 to 565.00 CY pounds in 1997. Similarly female monthly agricultural wages have increased but they remain at a much lower rate from 242.00 CY pounds in 1991 to 392.00 CY pounds in 1997. The relevant departmental report explains this gap as a result of the division of labour i.e. different jobs in the agricultural sector are allocated to men and different to women agricultural workers.
From the data presented above on monthly wages for women being 200 CY pounds less than that of men, as late as in 1997, and also taking account of the women’s responsibilities as heads of households, one concludes that rural women are still at a significantly disadvantaged position compared to rural men.
Heads of Households in Rural Areas
According to National Statistics 37% of the total number of households are in rural areas. Among these, 13.2% are headed by women.
In a special study conducted in 1997 by the Department of Statistics and Research, it was revealed that rural women are in an even worse position in relation to men if they live alone. Among one-member households in rural areas headed by women, 35.6% are below the poverty line, whereas the corresponding proportion of men is only 12.5%. In general, more than 1 out 5 rural households headed by women are poor but only 1 out of 20 female headed households face the same problem in rural areas.
(a) Rural Women's training programmes:
Since 1995 there has been a broader reorientation of the Home Economics training activities in order to be more effective in guiding and helping rural women on those areas and needs which are of most urgent concern. The Home Economics Service which functions within the Extension Section of the Department of Agriculture of the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment is the responsible unit for rural women's issues. Its main targets are aiming at the improvement of the status of rural women by promoting their roles in the agricultural household and in farming, and by encouraging them to deal with income generating activities. The ultimate objective is the integration of rural women in the overall rural development process.
(b) Social Pension
According to the Social Pension law No. 25(1) of 1995, which has been introduced in May 1995, a person, who on completion of the age of 68, is not entitled to a pension from any other source, is entitled to a social pension. The amount of the social pension is equal to the amount of the minimum pension under the Social Insurance Legislation, is payable 13 times a year and its cost is bore by general taxation. Although this pension is payable to both men and women, the beneficiaries are mainly housewives and women employed in agriculture. This Law has been recently amended and since 1.1.99 social pension is paid to persons who complete the age of 66 and as from 1.1.2000 to persons at the age of 65.
I.2. Examples of obstacles encountered / lessons learned.
Labour statistics for the year 1996 report an economically active population of 304,800 of which 118,000 or 38.85% were women. Of the 9,431 unemployed 5,134 were women or 54.41%. Of those who have stayed unemployed over six months, 55.66% were women. The fact that more women stay unemployed longer (for more than six months) suggests a comparative disadvantage of unemployed women compared to unemployed men.
In addition, the mean average monthly pay of the total of economically active population is CY pounds 669 (or 759 for males and 546 for females) while the median average monthly pay is CY pounds 563 (637 for men against 449 for women). These figures support significant differences in the compensation of men and women.
I.3. Commitment to further action/new initiatives.
More training programmes for women are planned. One such training programme is the ‘Agrotourism’ one which involves rural women with activities related with the establishment and running of small scale tourist industries. Such activities are considered important for enabling rural women to earn additional income, to supplement their limited income, to develop leadership capabilities and to invest in agriculture. The ultimate objective is to integrate rural women in the overall rural development process.
II. Education and Training of Women
II.1. Examples of successful policies, programmes and projects to implement the critical areas of concern of the Beijing Platform for Action: targets and strategies set and related achievements.
Education:
The level of participation in Education, up to and including the secondary level in the schools of Cyprus is generally high for both women and men. School enrolment by level of education shows that there are no significant differences between females and males. Nevertheless, girls continue to select subjects which lead to occupations that are traditionally considered to be suitable for women (e.g. teachers, secretaries). As a result the percentage of girls who follow technical / vocational education is still low compared with that of boys.
Within the framework of governmental policy to enhance equality of opportunity, specific measures are being implemented in this area to change stereotyped attitudes regarding gender roles and to encourage a higher participation of schoolgirls in technical education as well as women into those training programmes that would widen their occupational horizons. Such measures include vocational guidance programmes, enlightenment campaigns for parents and special programmes for the in-service of teaching staff on the equality of sexes. Also, the Ministry of Education and Culture has taken on board the Beijing 1995 statement : "Women’s empowerment and their full participation on the basis of equality in all spheres of society, including participation in the decision-making process and access to power, are fundamental for the advancement of equality, development, and peace"; thus it is furthering equality as follows:
in education to enjoy in full their human rights for equal educational opportunities and take their rightful place in educational positions at all levels of the educational hierarchy in the 21st century.
Kindergarden encouragement is offered to all pupils of the non- traditional role play for both girls and boys-cooking and sewing, the role playing of father, mother, doctor, lorry driver etc. Unfortunately, in terms of teaching personnel and its gender, Cyprus, like many countries, has no progress to report; all but one of the 678 kindergarden teachers are female. Out of these 20 are Head teachers and 47 deputies. The three inspectors for this age group/level of Education are also all females.
Primary Education in Cyprus does not include a specific curriculum subject on "Family Education" including the gender division or mutual undertaking of responsibilities of housework by all members of the family; such issues are dealt with in a cross curricula manner. But the Curriculum on "Domestic Science", is offered in the last years to both boys and girls; it focuses on scientific and technological knowledge and achievements relevant to the individual within his or her family environment, such as keeping healthy, looking and feeling good, living in a safe and clean environment. Hence it is expected that both boys and girls will take responsibility for their corporal, mental, spiritual and social well-being. As far as the subject on Design and Technology is concerned, which has been introduced into the Primary Curriculum in 1995, the collected data show that both girls and boys attend the subject with equal success. In this way non-discriminatory gender education has been enabled.
Secondary Education enrolment has been steadily increasing and has reached 90% of the total of boys and girls to be enrolled in 1996/7 . It is also important to state here that there has been sufficient allocation of resources for development and monitoring of the implementation of educational reforms within which gender issues played an important role. We also note here that the TIMSS report of 1996 demonstrated that girls performance in science and maths were as good as the boys performance, even though the number of girls who choose to study science is lower then the number of boys.
According to the Statistics in Education of 1996/7 there was no woman in a position of Permanent Secretary or Director of Primary, Secondary, Tertiary Education or in the Higher position of the Chair of the University Council, or Senate. But there were in Secondary education: one woman Chief Executive Officer out of 7, four women out of 34 Inspectors, 24 women out of 88 Principals, 200 women out of 495 Vice-principals, and 2,514 women classroom teachers out of 4,556. In Technical Education women again figure as fewer students, less numbers of teachers or instructors and none in positions of power.
Higher Education:
Institutions of Higher Education, like governmental institutes offering degrees or diplomas at graduate or postgraduate levels, and Private Colleges of Tertiary education offer some courses on Human Rights with modules on ‘Women’s Issues’ at random. "Intercollege" for example, ( a privately run college of further and higher education, linked with Universities and Colleges abroad for undergraduate and postgraduate courses) has a good record of research on "Women and Management", "Women in the Tourist Industry", "Women and Conflict"; it also includes modules on women’s issues in the Early Childhood education courses and also in the Politics and Sociology courses.
At University level:
For the academic year 1998-99, the University of Cyprus, the highest educational Institution of the Republic of Cyprus, has admitted 2,362 students at undergraduate and post-graduate levels, of which 515 are males and 1847 are females. Out of the 403 new entries for this year only 15 are males. This is mainly attributed to the fact that boys after their secondary education have to go through a compulsory military service for nearly 26 months, but also to the very good school performance of girl students.
Despite this significant gender differential between male and female students, the University of Cyprus statistics of 1995, reported that out of 168 teaching staff only one third were women (i.e 124 males and 44 females, of whom 15 males were full professors while only one woman was at this high position). On the 8th of March 1999, four years later, the total figure given for the teaching staff was 197 people of whom 145 were males and only 52 (about one third again) were females. The number of professorial posts stayed the same, 16 in all, out of which 15 were allocated to men and one to a woman professor.
Of the specially seconded ‘ancillary’ teaching staff (at the lowest rank in terms of status and pay) the 1995 figures give 7 males and 12 females, while for 1999 the figures are 10 males and 14 females appointed to help the permanent staff as teaching assistants.
The above figures demonstrate that, although the student body consists mainly of women, females are underrepresented in academic levels and bodies where decisions, important to the functioning of this highest educational institution, are taken. There is a lot of work to be done and it is women academics who have taken
it upon themselves - amidst all other pressures of academic life - to promote awareness on gender issues and to raise funds for research on Women’s issues and Human rights.
In terms of teaching about ‘Issues of Equality and Gender’ three departments of the University of Cyprus, that is the Political Science, the Education and Foreign Languages and Literatures, offer courses or modules relevant to Gender and Equality. These are:
In terms of gender-related research conducted at the University of Cyprus since 1995, the Department of Education participated in the international programme of the Commonwealth Secretariat "Three generations, two genders, one world" where primary data were collected. Also a library based research of secondary data has been published in 1998 about the "History of Women’s Education in Cyprus".
Training of the workforce:
Training is also provided on the basis of an expressed non-discrimination policy on grounds of gender or any other trainee characteristic. In addition to this general policy statement, the Industrial Training Authority (ITA) recently renamed Human Resource Development Authority of Cyprus, has over the years adopted a number of measures and actions pertaining to the training of women.
One such action was a special study to investigate the employment potential of economically inactive women. On the basis of the findings of the study, the ITA initiated - in collaboration with its social partners - the implementation of specially designed orientation programmes for inactive women in order to facilitate their return to work.
In another study on management training and development, the ITA identified women as a priority target group for management training the aim being to increase the share of women in management as well as to meet their gender-related training needs.
One of ITAs long term objectives and expressed policies is to respond swiftly to urgent training needs, as these are set in accordance with national priorities. On the basis of this policy and for a number of years, one of the top priority areas of ITA´s training activities was computer training which attracted a large number of women.
II.2. Examples of obstacles encountered/lessons learned.
For a number of years the policy of the Government of Cyprus of non-discrimination in Education and Training was evidenced by the participation rates of female - trainees. Thus women constituted over 40% of trainees, this comparing favourably with the proportion of women to the gainfully employed population (around 39%). However in recent years and particularly in the last three year period, women’s participation in training has decreased to just over 31% of the total trainee population.
An example of efforts towards spreading gender related discussion and awareness, where lessons were learned and practice has changed to accommodate that knowledge, comes from the highest educational institution. The University of Cyprus, in its efforts to contribute to a wider gender awareness among the public, organises series of lectures at its own premises. In 1996, a series on "Gyne-Logos" was organised. Better channels of communication between the University and the National Machinery for Women’s Rights, as well as with the three women MPs led to a very successful seminar organised in 1998 on "Parity Democracy for the 21st century" with invited speakers from abroad. The lesson learned here is one of close collaboration with and co-organisation of public seminars and lectures on women’s issues, with associations, agencies and individuals already working at the grass roots.
II.3. Commitment to further action/new initiatives.
The Ministry of Education and Culture is committed to further action on issues of gender-related education and training at all levels of education and for all citizens of the Republic of Cyprus for whom a Life Long Learning programme is being considered and within it issues of gender equality, cultural and other diversity will be given a prominent position.
Also, the University of Cyprus, through a group of women academics, has initiated the setting up of a Women's Studies Programme; this will promote scientific research and analysis on the subject.
One of ITA´s objectives for 1999 is the reassessment of the condition and position of the economically inactive female population. The ITA also responds very positively to a new type of courses geared to meet particular needs of women in the work place (e.g."Working Women: Empowerment for reaching highest targets" )
III.1. Examples of successful policies, programmes and projects to implement the critical areas of concern of the Beijing Platform for Action: targets and strategies set and related achievements.
Health care in Cyprus is adequately provided to all people without any discrimination related to gender, both by the Government and by the private sector. However, difficult cases of both men and women are referred to institutions abroad with which the Government of Cyprus has entered into special agreements.
Generally, based on statistical data, it can be said that the standard of Health of the people of Cyprus is most satisfactory and is comparable to other developed countries of the World. The rural Cypriot population shares this high standard of health with the rest of the Cypriots.
The public sector services the urban and rural population through a network of hospitals and health care centres. Public health facilities are provided free of charge to low income people and other eligible groups of the population. The range of services provided is comprehensive and includes all levels of health, primary, secondary and tertiary. In order to ensure that all citizens, irrespective of financial means or social status or gender, the Government of Cyprus has taken every care in its present revision of Public provision to ensure equal access for all.
The private sector offers all types of health services, but is mainly active in the urban and semi-urban regions. The private sector also caters for the needs of the various health schemes extended to specific groups of employees through their contract of employment and via Insurance Companies.
Women in Cyprus do not suffer the adverse effects of poverty, of flagrant discriminatory treatment or of traditional practices which are harmful to health. Women's condition is facilitated by legislation and equal constitutional rights, by the high standard of living and by the high literacy level. There is no discrimination in relation to the gender of the offspring, no discriminatory food allocation and no unequal access to clean water, sanitation and housing.
A general description of the current situation follows:
Maternal and Child Health Centres and by doctors of the public and private sectors. Contraception is legal and widely available.
Women are targeted specifically in Health Education, so as to increase their potential for self protection from infection with the HIV.
Treatment of HIV and AIDS, including antiretroviral drugs, is offered to all citizens, men and women, who meet the necessary clinical and laboratory criteria. Social support is offered by the government services in co-operation with relevant NGOs. The sex-ratio among known HIV seropositives is 6.4 men to one woman. Antenatal screening for HIV has been carried out for several years and prevalence of HIV infection among pregnant women is known to be extremely low. Likewise, the prevalence among recruits is zero percent, according to the results of a recent survey. However, mean age at diagnosis is 32.5 years so, presumably the mean age of infection is in the mid-twenties. Consequently, efforts are made to initiate epidemiological monitoring of sections of the population, mainly men at older ages.
Maternity allowance has been extended by the Social Insurance Amendment Law (Law No.84(1)/98) to women who adopt children provided that the adoption took place during the first five years from a child's birth.
Statistical Data
As far as "Life expectancy" is concerned, it is considered, quite satisfactory. Recent data by sex in rural and urban areas are still not available; however, the trend over the last years shows that there is an improvement which follows the same trend of the European countries with women’s life expectancy higher than that of men’s: in 1996-97 the percentages were 75.01 years for males and 79.97 for women. Concentrating on gender differential in collected statistics, we can point out that in the last five years official maternal mortality rate registers 0.0 per thousand live birth while infant mortality, which was already fairly low, shows again a drop for the period under review, being in 1996-97, 8.0 per thousand live births in comparison to the 1991 data being 10.00 per thousand live births.
Rural Women
Rural women have access to public Health Services, Maternal – Child Health and Family Planning. Through the provision of specific training and guiding programmes, undertaken jointly by the ‘Home Economy Service’ and the Family Planning Association, a well organised and very effective NGO, rural women are encouraged to take advantage of clinical services especially on contraception, PAP test, breast examination, pregnancy tests etc. On the basis of ‘set up objectives’ for the provision of information to young people, special training programmes are organised for two years now, specifically for young rural women according to the 1996-97 demographic report of the Department of Statistics and Research, in order to disseminate information on crucial topics such as contraception and unwanted pregnancy, hepatitis, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), HIV – AIDS, etc.
Health Education
Health education has been part of the curriculum in public schools since the year 1992-93. It has been continuously renovated and enriched. The promotion of this programme takes place at two levels. The first level is supervised by the Ministerial Committee and the second level through the actions of school-based Health Education committees, in which teachers and pupils are encouraged to participate. Based on the demands for the Health Education Programme the following activities have been launched:
The school-based programme is organised around the following principles that underline equality of genders to health issues:
Based on the above principles various programmes have been developed focusing on health education issues:
III.2. Examples of obstacles encountered/lessons/learned
There is no Health Education Unit and no integrated policy regarding health promotion. Time and staff shortages have led to the limited use of funds allocated to Health Education.
Efforts are being made to improve the cooperation between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education and Culture in the planning and implementation of health education for AIDS, and other relevant areas.
III. 3. Commitment to further action/new initiatives.
New policies include the expansion and improvement of the Maternity and Child Health Centres, especially in rural areas and the expansion of foetal pre-delivery tests and information programmes, on specific diseases and health hazards that women face.
Genital mutilation is unknown in Cyprus. However, a specific provision would be made in a new Law under preparation aiming at the protection of women and children from exploitation. In fact the express prohibition of such cruel and inhuman practices would amount to a condemnation by the Republic of such practices.
Moreover, the Ministry of Health started operating in 1994, and it continues throughout till now in 1999, an organised screening programme to reach a high proportion of the risk population for cancer of the breast and of the cervix of the uterus based on the guidelines issued by the European Union. This programme is offered free of charge.
More educational programmes planned for young people at schools in secondary and higher education explore positive and negative aspects of risk-taking, the influence of risk factors on the environment, diseases and health, how physical exercise influences health, how preventing stress and developing relaxation techniques and being nearer to nature cultivate and transform positively student’s attitudes to human relationships and sexuality and explore views on the equality links on love and sex; also to provide students with accurate information about sex-propagated diseases and methods of contraception, and to help students to avoid infection by HIV and other viruses.
IV.1. Examples of successful policies, programmes and projects to implement the critical areas of concern of the Beijing Platform for Action: targets and strategies set and related achievements.
Domestic Violence
Cyprus is one of the countries which has enacted a Law dealing specifically with Domestic Violence. The main targets of this Law are to condemn any act of violence within the family and to express abhorrence for such inhuman and beastly behaviour. The Law raises substantially the penalties for violence and provides protection to victims mainly by empowering the Court to issue restraining orders prohibiting the aggressor from entering or staying in the marital home. In addition, the Violence in the Family (Prevention and Protection of Victims) Law of 1994 Law No 47(1)/94), clarifies that rape can be committed within marriage, speeds up trials dealing with cases of domestic violence, facilitates the reporting of violent incidents, provides for the appointment of Family Counsellors and the setting up of an Advisory Committee to monitor the implementation of the Law and a Multidisciplinary Group of Experts to provide the necessary assistance to children and young victims.
Particularly the Advisory Committee, consisting of professionals from the public and private sector, has a very broad framework of responsibilities including the following:
The Committee has set amongst its priorities the training of professionals dealing with domestic violence cases. Special training programmes have already been carried out for members of the police, welfare officers, doctors, whilst new programmes are being planned for school counsellors and teachers. Particularly the Police Academy provides general sensitization to all its trainees and at the same time courses reinforced with the presence of specialists from abroad are offered to a selected group of police women and men who eventually will become specialised.
The Department of Social Welfare Services identifies cases of physical and psychological violence against women which it handles through preventive and therapeutic programmes. It also provides residential accommodation and crisis relief to abused women and their children.
The Department organises in-service training for social workers to enable them to detect and make early diagnosis of cases of violence within the family and offer relevant support and assistance. It also provides services to emergency cases during non-working hours through a system of social workers on call. Welfare officers have been appointed as family counsellors with extended powers which enable them to act in a more effective manner.
Non-governmental organisations play a very significant role in making the problem of domestic violence visible to society, especially through their sensitization programmes and public campaigns. A shelter for battered women has been recently set up. It is run by an NGO and is subsidised by the Government.
Another significant recent development is the preparation of a draft amending Law which is expected to remove difficulties of an evidentiary nature which currently prevent the effective implementation of the Law and to effect other substantial improvements based on the experience gained since the enactment of the Law in 1994. For example, the evidence of the psychiatrists or psychologists who have examined the victims of violence, will become admissible by way of exception to the rules for hearsay evidence. The same will apply for electronically recorded audio-visual depositions. In addition the draft amending Law provides for the setting up of a Fund for Victims of Violence. Money from this fund will be used, among other things, for meeting immediate needs, finding places of alternative housing for battered women to stay with their children, supporting the victims of violence and such other purposes as are deemed necessary.
Trafficking and exploitation of Women
As regards trafficking and exploitation of women, an increasing sensitivity is witnessed both among the public and the government authorities. The Government of Cyprus deeply concerned with this phenomenon which internationally is becoming increasingly worrying, is determined to intensify its efforts, at the national and international level, contributing towards the prevention of and combating the problem at its root. During the last five years various measures have been taken by the Police and the Migration Department of the Ministry of Interior which are primarily responsible for the enforcement of relevant laws and policies.
More strict measures are taken by the Police and the number of cases reported during the years 1996 and 1997 were four and a half times more than during the years 1994 and 1995.
Most vulnerable group in this respect are the women in the entertainment business, the artists or bar girls, mainly of foreign origin. The entry of artists, bar girls and night club workers in the country is controlled by the Migration Department which is also responsible for the implementation of the relevant laws and policies, co-operating closely with the Police. Measures taken for the prevention of trafficking and exploitation of alien women include the issue of limited visas, informing the ‘artistes’ well in advance of the Cyprus legislation, inspecting and approving their contracts of employment, and spot checks at the place of their work giving them the opportunity to submit in private any complaints about involuntary activities.
The Government of Cyprus is now focusing on the improvement of national legislation following closely the international developments in this field and taking into account the European Union Joint Action to combat trafficking in human beings and sexual exploitation of children. The Law Commissioner, in close collaboration with the relevant Ministries, has drafted a bill for the protection of vulnerable persons from sexual and other exploitation. The draft bill which is now before the Legal Service of the Republic for final consideration, condemns and criminalises such activities provides for the protection, compensation and rehabilitation of victims and extends the jurisdiction of the Cyprus Courts.
Under this law, new offences are created or old ones are recast in a more clear and unambiguous way with punishment fitting the seriousness of such offences. These offences, including the sale of children, the trafficking and exploitation of women and children, the use of children for pornography, and the production, display, showing or transmission of such productions, would be extraditable and would also be predicate offences for purposes of confiscation of illicit proceeds.
Another very important element of this law is the appointment of the "Guardian of Victims", who will be responsible for the provision of humanitarian support and assistance to the victims as well as for the channelling of complaints to the competent authorities for investigation.
Another relevant development of great importance is the very recent establishment - by a decision of the Council of Ministers - of the National Institution for Human Rights aiming at the promotion of human rights in Cyprus. More specifically, this Institution will monitor the implementation of International Conventions on Human Rights, including the Slavery Conventions and the Conventions for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons, submit recommendations for the harmonisation of domestic laws with these conventions and also the examination of complaints about violations of human rights in close collaboration with the Ombudsperson.
IV. 2. Examples of obstacles encountered/lessons learned.
IV. 3. Commitment to further action/ new initiatives
V.1. Examples of successful policies, programmes and projects to implement the critical areas of concern of the Beijing Platform for Action. Here we indicate some targets and strategies set and related achievements.
Human Rights violations and inhuman or degrading treatment and violence, in all its manifestations, remain the most effective instrument in the hands of an occupying power aiming mainly at political, as well as at military objectives.
When speaking of women in armed conflict, emphasis should be given to the violations of these very rights experienced by the refugee and displaced women as well as the situation of women experiencing the effects of armed conflict, the aftermath of military occupation and the drama of ethnic cleansing.
One of the most tragic manifestations of these violations is the one with which the displaced women of Cyprus have been tragically struck by. The refugee status and displacement of the Cypriot women as an aftermath of the 1974 Turkish invasion, has been accompanied by the violation of their fundamental human rights, a violation which inflicted serious harm and injury to individuals, families and communities through moral degradation, humiliation, loss of the family, home, property and work place, and too often, by the loss or disappearance of loved ones.
The consequences of displacement on the Cypriot family were destructive as were the implications on the economy and the very social fabric of the island. Moreover, massive unemployment which usually follows such upheavals has had detrimental effects particularly on the working women, and in general on all women who they, themselves, are indeed the real victims of such refugee situations.
It should be noted that a community of 20,000 Greek Cypriots, who remained in their homes in the occupied territories of Karpasia after the 1974 invasion, have been reduced to below 400 people during the 25 years of Turkish occupation, as a result of both physical but primarily psychological violence and coercion exercised against them. The "enclaved", as they were termed, have been inhumanely restricted in their immediate surroundings, with no freedom of movement for work, education, or anything else; their property rights or the safeguard of their most basic and fundamental human rights have been continuously violated while the International community observes silently in our case, from its safe strongholds around the world.
Education for those enclaved children has been limited by the Turkish occupation forces to the primary level only and this is in its most rudimentary and primitive form, with severe restrictions imposed, as regards the books to be allowed to reach the schools, or on the teachers to perform their duties. This is happening in a country that highly valued the education of their children; it was the determining factor that forced most of the Karpass people to constantly and massively flee to more secure places in the government-controlled area, where their children could pursue their secondary and further education. If they stay behind they will be deprived from their most basic right to free secondary education while if they go to the government controlled area to finish their basic education, they will not be allowed to return to their parents and homes in Karpasia.
For the few people who remained, despite the inhuman conditions they had to suffer, the situation remains tragic. In their vast majority these are women in old age, unprotected, with poor or inaccessible health services and separated from their families.
Cyprus Peace Centre
In the last five years the women of Cyprus have promoted an important activity dealing with Cyprus’ continuing problem of political conflict and instability.
After 1974, Cypriot women pioneered on issues of Peace and Conflict resolution. As a result of discussions held amongst women and activities they organised for both women and men, the "Peace Centre (Cyprus)" was set up. The Centre operates in Nicosia as a non-profit and non-political organisation, in the sense that it has no direct relationship to any political party. Its general goal and objectives are the following:
1. To promote the ideal of peace in the world and in Cyprus in particular, through the organisation of several relevant activities. Introducing new ways of thinking, communication and living,
2. to promote the respect of cultures, civilisations and ways of thinking other than our own,
3. to support the attempts of protecting the human rights locally and internationally, with the hope of improving interpersonal relations in society,
4. to study in depth the causes of conflict and the phenomenon of violence among people,
5. to develop and implement conflict resolution techniques starting from the level of responsibility of the individual citizen,
6. to sensitize the general public for the necessity of resolving conflicts and achieving peace,
7. to promote effectively the ideals of mutual understanding, co-operation and peaceful co-existence among all people, with special emphasis on Cyprus,
The above objectives are sought through the use of the following means:
1. The organisation of activities such as lectures, open discussions, workshops, film and video shows etc.,
2. the establishment of a peace library equipped with relevant material (books, journals, tapes, and films),
3. the encouragement and support of applied research in areas such as world peace, disarmament, human rights, environmental protection, alternative sources of energy etc. as well as the active participation in such research,
4. the publication of informative material (in the form of a newsletter and /or a journal) and the utilisation of the existing mass media,
5. the organisation and servicing of conflict resolution workshops for groups of people who may come from the wider geo-political area of Cyprus,
6. the development of educational curricula around the central theme of peace, their acceptance by, and their implementation in schools of different levels from elementary to higher,
7. the organisation of and the participation in civic action attempts that are related to the objectives of the centre,
8. the co-operation with Peace Centres of other countries as well as with other similar organisations in Cyprus and abroad.
International Eco-Peace Village
Another very important development in this field is the establishment of a Peace Village for training on conflict resolution. This activity as a result of the sensitization and strong commitment of women on matters of peace has been supported by the Commonwealth Secretariat . The peace village has been lately renamed as "International Eco-peace Village" and is focusing people’s attention to the interrelationship between war and the destruction of the environment.
More details on this new project are given in the chapter on ´Women and the Environment´.
VI.1. Examples of successful policies, programmes and projects to implement the critical areas of concern of the Beijing Platform for Action: targets and strategies set and related achievements.
Policy
The role and status of Cypriot women in socio-economic life has improved significantly in the last twenty years. Apart from the gradually changing social perceptions, this has been achieved mainly through their increased participation in economic activity as a result of high rates of economic growth and low unemployment rates, the expansion and up-dating of family and labour law, the increased public awareness of women’s specific problems and Government’s policy for the promotion of equality in all aspects of life, declared explicitly in all national Development Plans.
The policy of the Government of Cyprus for the improvement of the position of women in the economy, especially in employment, is pursued firstly through the overall economic development policy aiming at maintaining conditions of full employment and fully utilising human resources; and secondly, through special measures aiming at facilitating entry and retainment of employment by women and the promotion of equality.
The Strategic Development Plan, covering the period 1994-1998 postulates as its major goals and targets regarding the advancements of women, elimination of all forms of discrimination against women in the labour market, the further improvement of supportive infrastructure provided to working parents, and the alleviation of the particular problems faced by rural women.
Measures taken
For the achievement of the above goals and targets, the following measures have been taken:
As regards the safety and health of pregnant women, new mothers and women who are breast feeding, special Regulations have been drafted,
A new Strategic Development Plan for the period 1999-2003 is now under preparation and it will provide for the full harmonisation of Cyprus with the Acquis Communautaire both in law and in practice with particular emphasis to the promotion of equality.
Statistics
The number of women entering the labour market has been constantly growing. Their share in the total labour force rose from 30% in 1976 to 37% in 1985 and 39% in 1997.
In the period 1989-1995, the annual rate of increase of women in non-agricultural activities averaged 3,9% as compared to 2,4% for men, whereas for the period 1995-1997 the relevant figures were 1,3% and 1,0% respectively.
The percentage share of employed women in total employment in broad sectors of economic activities for 1993, 1995 and 1997 was as follows:
1993 1995 1997
Primary sector 40% 38% 36%
Secondary sector 29% 28% 26%
Tertiary sector 42% 44% 45%
Their share in the secondary sector has dropped from 29% in 1993 to 28% in 1995 and 26% in 1997. This is attributed to the decline of the clothing and footwear manufacturing which traditionally employed a large number of women.
In the tertiary sector, during 1997, women accounted for a substantial proportion of the workforce in the sectors of Finance/Insurance/Business Services (48%), in Trade/Restaurants/Hotels (46%) and in Community/Social and Personal Services (46%), compared to 47%, 45% and 42% respectively in 1993.
Also, in 1997, about 27% of employed women as opposed to 26% in 1995 and 1993, have received higher education, whereas the corresponding figures for men were 19% and 21%. Furthermore, 46% of employed women and 47% of employed men have completed secondary education compared to 42% for both sexes in 1995 and 42% for women and 46% for men in 1993.
Especially for rural women and according to the Labour Statistics of 1997, these constitute the 35.8% of the total gainful employment in agriculture. This figure shows a decrease of women working in agriculture compared to the 1992 data of the Census of Population, when rural women made up the 45% of the total gainful employment in agriculture. In 1992 the 10.3% of the national labour force and 27.8% of the total female labour force with the majority of them working in agriculture.
Unemployment
The rate of unemployment in Cyprus, (2,6% in 1993 and 1995, 3,1% in 1996 and 3,4% in 1997 and 1998) remains low compared to international standards. The very satisfactory level of employment in Cyprus is reflected in the labour participation rates for both men and women, which was 90% and 54% respectively in 1997.
In 1993 women accounted for 58% of total unemployment, compared to 55% in 1995, 52% in 1997 and 48% in 1998. In addition, the proportion of the female higher education graduates to total unemployment was 10,8% in 1993, 10,6% in 1995 and 10,5% in 1997 and 1998.
Measures currently promoted
To encourage more women to enter the labour force and to help working women to better combine their family and economic life, the following specific measures have been/ are being currently promoted:
- offer quality services to people who can benefit from day care programs.
Successful stories
Women’s access to employment is facilitated through the Scheme for the Self-Employment of Tertiary Education Graduates, the basic objective of which is to create employment opportunities for graduates through the provision of financial incentives for self-employment. More specifically loan assistance is provided for projects proposed by interested tertiary education graduates, provided that certain basic criteria are met, in particular the viability of the projects.
The Scheme has been recently revised on the basis of the very positive results of a study which was carried out in 1996 with the aim of evaluating this Scheme. The Scheme now covers, inter alia, a wider range of economic activities and an increase in the amount of loans granted.
VI. 2. Examples of obstacles encountered / lessons learned.
This development led to the acknowledgement of the need to provide to those affected, mainly women, retraining in new skills and occupations that are in demand.
VI.3 Commitment to further action/new initiatives.
VII. Women in Power and Decision-making
VII.1. Examples of successful policies, programmes and projects to implement the critical areas of concern of the Beijing Platform for Action: targets and strategies set and related achievements:
As has already been mentioned the increase of participation of women in public and political life and at the decision making level has been identified as one of the priorities in the field of equality for which the Government has committed itself at the Beijing Conference. The President of the Republic, as well as Political Party Leaders and Women's Organisations have declared their full support to a further balancing out in women's participation in decision making and politics in order to meet the goal of minimum 30% set by the Beijing Platform for Action.
In Cyprus, both women and men, had - for the first time - the right to vote and stand as candidates for a seat in the House of Representatives at the time of the formation of the Republic in 1960. Voting has become compulsory for all eligible persons since then. Nevertheless women’s participation in both the Parliament and the Council of Ministers has been very limited. In the nearly 40 years of the Republic only two women had served as Ministers (one as a Minister of Justice and the other as Minister of Education) and only 5 hold the position of a Member of Parliament (one for three terms, one for two and three for one). During the same period four persons succeeded each other in the position of the Attorney General one of which was a woman (1984-88).
In the last elections in 1996 only three women were elected out of 56 seats (representing the 5.4%) to the Parliament while at present there is no woman in the cabinet. Nevertheless, the number of women contesting parliamentary elections is increasing and has reached the number of 55 women candidates in 1996.
On the other hand women’s share is much higher in local government as it is shown in the following 1998 data: Presently, the number of women Mayors has increased, so that 4 out of 33 mayors i.e. 12.1 % are women. Also, a considerable number of women were elected as Municipal Councillors in the 1996 elections, i.e. 69 women out of 417 women candidates, i.e.16.5% .
Another area where Cypriot women have just broken the ice and made an impact is in achieving high Governmental positions.
A significant breakthrough of the President's commitment to promote the goal of a balanced participation of women and men at the highest level of the Government was the appointment in 1999 of the women in the positions of Auditor General of the Republic, Ombudsperson and Assistant Accountant General. These appointments were followed by a woman appointed, for the first time, a Member of the prestigious Education Service Committee.
As regards women in the judiciary, 17 judges out of 75 are women i.e. 22.66% .
Within the Civil Service during the last years we are observing a steady increase in the advancement of women at high ranking positions including:
Women are also represented in the membership and central bodies of the Political Parties and in a lower percentage on their executive committees. The situation is similar in respect of employers and employee organisations and other groups of interests.
Policy/Measures
In 1995, after the Beijing Conference, it was publicly and widely discussed that, despite the general progress in other fields, women’s participation in public and political life has been very low.
In May-June 1997, the Government of Cyprus via the National Machinery for Women’s Rights and supported by the Commonwealth Secretariat invited a foreign consultant to study the Cyprus reality and put forward ideas for programmes and activities which could increase the number of women to be elected to local and national political bodies.
The specific terms of reference were:
The consultant put forward recommendations for training, additional policies and gender-mainstreaming strategies for politics in Cyprus.
As a follow up to the above report from the consultant, a high profile launch/public meeting in Nicosia was held on the 9th of October 1998, followed by a weekend workshop (9-11th October 1998) entitled «Women and Men Working in Partnership in Politics for the Future of Politics in Cyprus». Both the public meeting and the workshop were jointly funded by the Cyprus National Machinery for Women’s Rights and the British Council with a contribution from the Commonwealth Secretariat.
The public meeting was widely attended by the general public and by members of NGOs and political parties. The meeting, hosted by the Minister of Justice and Public Order, Chair of the National Machinery for Women’s Rights, attracted the attention of the media. The President of the Republic, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and all other Party Leaders spoke at the occasion as well as the three women Members of Parliament. The Director of the Commonwealth Secretariat Division of Gender and Youth Affairs, the Director of the British Council and the British Consultant also spoke at the public meeting and outlined the objectives which were:
Major outcomes of the meeting, according to the report submitted by the organisers, were:
The public meeting was followed by the 3 day workshop for 60 participants. It was oversubscribed and with high levels of motivation, both from participants and organisers. The objectives were:
on behalf of political parties at public meetings and on TV, what sort of pictures appear in party literature etc. were covered.
Major outcomes were:
"We, the representatives of parties, organisations and other persons who participated in the seminar "Men and Women together in Politics" held at Platres on 9-11 October 1998,
Determined to convince on the basis of arguments about the need for promotion of the participation of women in politics, which will prove beneficial to the Republic and Cyprus society,
Recognising the need that the women of Cyprus should be given better opportunities to involve themselves in politics taking into consideration the multifaceted role of women and the realities in our society,
Establishing that the institutional framework and the status of women in Cyprus has been upgraded in all the fields except the field of politics,
Underlining that equality in the political rights of men and women is enshrined in the UN Charter, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in other instruments, protocols, conventions and declarations on human rights such as the European Convention on Human Rights with the relevant protocols and the Convention on the Elimination of All Form of Discrimination against Women,
Reiterating the findings and guidelines set out by the Beijing Conference on Women,
We note with satisfaction what has been said by the President of the Republic of Cyprus and by all the political leaders about the need to promote women in politics and regard these statements as a political commitment for attainment of this target in the immediate future so that it may become possible for women to actively involve themselves in the party and political bodies,
We are conscious of the difficult positions in which our country has been since 1974 and appreciate the efforts of the political leadership to find a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem and for the accession of Cyprus to the European Union
,
We greet the Cypriot woman who has demonstrated by her militant spirit and her worth that she is capable and should participate on an equal basis with men in all the fields of action of the state and of our society."
VII.2. Examples of obstacles encountered/lessons learned
VII. 3. Commitment to further action/new initiatives.
VIII. Institutional Mechanisms for the Advancement of Women
VIII.1. Examples of successful policies, programmes and projects to implement the critical areas of concern of the Beijing Platform for Action: targets and strategies set and related achievements.
The Ministry of Justice and Public Order is the competent authority in Cyprus for the promotion of equality and the protection of women's rights. Its instrument to this effect is ´The National Machinery for Women’s Rights (NMWR)´ which was set up in May 1988 and was reformed in February 1994 by a decision of the Council of Ministers. It is a system of four bodies which comes under the auspices and chairmanship of the relevant Minister. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry has general supervision of the operation of the NMWR and is its Deputy Chairman.
The Machinery deals with all matters concerning women focusing on the elimination of legal discrimination against women and the promotion of real equality between women and men and more specifically its mandate is to:
The four bodies of the NMWR are:
(i)The Council for Women’s Rights, consisting of representatives of the major women’s organisations and trade unions (10 members) under the chairmanship of the Minister of Justice and Public Order.
(ii) The National Committee, consisting of representatives of all government departments and a large number of NGOs which is also under the chairmanship of the Minister of Justice and Public Order
(iii) The Inter-ministerial Committee consisting of the Officers for Women’s Rights, which are appointed in every Ministry under the chairmanship of the Permanent-Secretary of the Ministry of Justice and Public Order.
(iv) The General Secretariat which is headed by the Secretary - General and is incorporated into the Ministry of Justice and Public Order.
The Council is rather small, flexible but at the same time representative of the major NGOs and Trade Unions working in the field of equality while the National Committee is broader and open to any group interested to participate.
The General Secretariat ensures that there is co-operation amongst all agencies, public and private, supports their work and initiates new projects and activities.
The Council sets up ad-hoc subcommittees to study in-depth specific issues and also invites experts and representatives of government departments whenever necessary to participate in the meetings for special advice.
The linkage of all Government departments with NGOs in an effective participatory and democratic structure as achieved by the NMWR is very important. This co-operation has proved extremely useful and fruitful so far, especially in the preparation and implementation of various programmes and activities but also in the promotion of legal reform.
The National Machinery, although consultative, is quite influential mainly due to the fact that it operates under the auspices and chairmanship of the Minister of Justice and Public Order and that a large number of organisations associated with a broad spectrum of political parties join their forces and co-operate closely for the promotion of a common goal. The NMWR is fully funded and staffed by the Government.
During the years of its operation the NMWR has gradually succeeded to:
Details of the specific projects undertaken by the NMWR are found under the relevant chapters of this report e.g. Law Reform, Women's Political Participation, Domestic Violence.
VIII. 2 Obstacles encountered /lessons learned:
VII. 3. Commitment to further action/new initiatives.
At the Beijing Conference the Government has committed itself " to reinforce the NMWR both in terms of budgeting, human resources and status within the Government, so as to enable it to effectively fulfil its task". Since then the budget has been considerably increased allowing training and other programmes to be developed and further subsidies to the NGOs.
IX. 1. Examples of successful policies, programmes and projects to implement the critical areas of concern of the Beijing Platform for Action: targets and strategies set and related achievements.
The UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) remains one of the most important international legal instruments under which women's rights have been recognised as human rights.
Cyprus has been a State party to this Convention since 1985 after ratifying it by Law No. 78/85 with a single reservation on Article 9, paragraph 2. That was considered a significant landmark for the advancement of the status of Cypriot women and the achievement of legal and real equality between women and men.
The Convention provided ever since the general framework of Cypriot National Plans and policies that comprehensively cover all areas of women's issues, in accordance with the requirements of the Convention, by putting particular emphasis on the:
Cyprus welcomes the recent strengthening of the CEDAW Convention by the adoption of an Optional Protocol that allows individuals and groups to bring petitions before the CEDAW Committee.
Inspired by the Convention, and based on its provisions, Law Reform has been carried out especially in the field of Family and Labour legislation aiming at eliminating legal discrimination against women as well as at safeguarding women's rights. Most of these legal measures have been already mentioned in previous chapters of this report, including the enactment of the Law on Domestic Violence and the drafting of the Bill on the Trafficking and Exploitation of Women which we consider of particular importance.
Special reference is also made on the very recent amendment of the Cyprus Citizenship Law (Law No 65(I)/99) and the elimination of discrimination against women regarding the Nationality of their Children. Thus the Government will proceed to the withdrawal of the single reservation on Article 9, paragraph 2 of the CEDAW Convention.
Besides the on going improvement of the legal framework, at this stage our focus is on the implementation and enforcement of relevant legislation protecting women's rights. This is an issue directly connected to women's awareness of their
rights and responsibilities deriving from these laws as well as the existence and improvement of institutional mechanisms where they can apply for assistance and remedy.
The Government, in collaboration with NGOs, carries out education programmes for women, disseminating at the same time widely the texts of relevant laws as well as other useful material. As to the existing mechanisms where women can apply for support and assistance, in addition to the Courts of the Republic, these are the Institution of the Ombudsperson, the National Machinery for Women's Rights and the Advisory Committee on Domestic Violence and the National Institution for the Protection of Human Rights, which has recently been established.
National Institution for the Protection of Human Rights
The Institution was established by a decision of the Council of Ministers dated 16th of September 1998 and is an independent body consisting of members appointed from the public as well as the private sector. It is independent in the sense that it does not come under the authority of any governmental agency. The participation of representatives from the private sector is an additional safeguard to its independence. The participation and co-operation of government officials was considered necessary for achieving direct promotion and advancement of legislative changes aiming at the harmonization of the national legislation with the provisions of the Conventions dealing with Human Rights.
The Institution consists of two committees. The one is composed of government officials and its main task is to prepare the reports submitted under the various conventions and to recommend necessary amendments to the Law, so as to bring it in conformity with provisions of the Convention. The other committee which has its own chairman is composed of members from the private sector and the House of Representatives. In particular the chairman of this committee is a well known lawyer, ex Minister of Justice and ex chairman of the Cyprus Bar Association for many years. Members of the Committee are: The chairman of the Cyprus Bar Association, a representative of the Cyprus Medical Association, and a representative from the University of Cyprus. The Permanent Secretary of the House of Representatives is also represented as well as existing NGOs for Human Rights in Cyprus. One important function of this Committee is the hearing of complaints for violation of human rights.
The Chairman of the Institution is the Law Commissioner of the Republic who is an independent officer and is appointed by the President of the Republic, on the the same terms as the Attorney General, the Auditor General and the President and members of the Supreme Court.
Analytically the functions of the Institution are:
* The provision of information relating to human rights to all interested parties,
* the provision of any assistance for the development and promotion of awareness for human rights,
* the study, discussion and making of suggestions in relation to the state of human rights in Cyprus,
* the provision of advice to the Government on any question relating to human rights which has been referred to the Institution for an opinion,
* the study and follow up of the legislation, the case-law and the administrative arrangements in relation to the protection and promotion of human rights; the preparation and submission of recommendations and reports in relations to these matters to the competent bodies,
* the preparation and submission to the competent bodies and committees of reports, replies to questionnaires and notes in relation to human rights in Cyprus. The competent bodies include committees which have been set up by virtue of conventions for the supervision of the implementation of the said conventions such as the committees which have been set up by virtue of the following conventions:
- International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights.
- International Covenant for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Discrimination.
- Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
* ex proprio motu examination or examination following an application of complaints about violations of human rights and the submission of reports and recommendations to the competent organs,
* the submission of recommendations and proposals including the preparation of draft laws for the updating and harmonisation of legislation with international conventions on human rights,
* the organisation of lectures, seminars or meetings of any form for the purpose of informing the public about, and promoting, human rights,
* taking measures in order to obtain scholarships of short duration for training programmes on human rights,
* the preparation of studies, translations and other documents on human rights with the purpose of informing the public on the rights and obligations of citizens,
* the execution of any other function which the Council of Ministers might assign to it in relation to the obligations of the Republic by virtue of international conventions on human rights which the Republic is bound to implement.
The Institution shall submit an annual report to the Council of Ministers and the House of Representatives about its activities and the cases of violation which have been examined.
IX. 2. Examples of obstacles encountered/lessons learned
Cypriot women have become much more aware of their rights and the protection provided by the law; however, there is a lot to be done by systematic education and encouragement towards exercising these rights. Human rights education including women's rights have already been introduced in the school curriculum, however, further sensitization and training of teachers on gender issues as well as the preparation of relevant curriculum materials are needed.
IX. 3 Commitment to further action/new initiatives
X.1. Examples of successful policies, programmes and projects to implement the critical areas of concern of the Beijing Platform for Action: targets and strategies set and related achievements.
Developments in terms of "the mushrooming effect" of new privately run Radio and TV stations in all major cities of Cyprus led to the opening up of a few more opportunities for women working in the media world as well as a few more platforms for women invited by the media to present their views on issues of equality and other related social issues.
The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC), a public corporation established by law, in its 1995 report claimed that "women’s issues are presented and discussed on television and radio and special programmes aim towards promoting equality. NGOs though and especially women’s organisations have complained of unequal treatment in presenting women as candidates or as discussants.
Cyprus Radio Television Authority
An important development in this field is the establishment of the Cyprus Radio Television Authority which is the competent regulatory body for the establishment, installation and operation of private radio and television stations throughout the territory of the Republic of Cyprus. It is an independent Authority and was established under the Radio and Television Law No. 7(1) of 1998. It is run by a board consisting of a chairman, a vice chairman and five members appointed by the Council of Ministers for a six year period.
According to Articles 26(1)c and 26(1)f of the aforementioned law the broadcasts of all licensed stations are governed by the principles of respect for the personality, repute, status and private life of the individual and for the ideals of democracy and human rights. Furthermore, article 33(3) (b) states that advertising and teleshoping shall not include any discrimination on grounds of race, sex, religion or nationality.
The Authority has prepared regulations, which have recently been approved by the House of Representatives and which regulate, inter alia, matters of discrimination. The Cyprus Radio Television Authority is closely monitoring the stations and takes measures if such discrimination occurs.
Five private enterprises, both TV and Radio stations, responded to the United Nations questionnaire distributed via the relevant ministry. We quote here from their written responses:
4. DIAS / UNITED PUBLISHING CO LTD - Radio PROTO
Radio "Proto" of Dias Publishing has a wide audience and is employing 20 men and 21 women. According to their report:
Radio PROTO systematically transmits programmes that are gender sensitive like "Women’s unemployment, Violence in the family, Sexual harassment at work, Low participation of women in power positions and decision making".
5. RADIO STATION "ATHINA"
A new woman's platform is the new radio station "ATHINA" run by a woman who has been involved in Women's Organisations and Politics.
Sensidization of the Mass Media
The National Machinery for Women's Rights takes various measures aiming at the sensidization of the Mass Media on gender issues including the following:
X.2 Examples of obstacles encountered /lessons learned.
X.3. Commitment to further action/new initiatives.
1. Examples of successful policies, in this critical area of concern came from individuals and the private sector and it is hoped that the Government will endorse these activities in the near future.
Women and the Environment` has been an issue taken up by many women’s groups successfully and awareness building has become a priority. In the last five years and in the efforts of various ministries towards combining health education, training for diversity and respect of life on the planet, Women Organisations, Political Parties and interested individuals have joined forces with the rest in public debates and other activities.
One such important activity was the organisation, by the Association of Interbalkan Women's Cooperation Societies, the UNESCO Center for Women and Peace in the Balkan Countries and a Cypriot Women's Organisation (Protoporia), of their Sixth Congress on "Environment and Women", in Nicosia on October 23-26, 1998. The Congress focused on women's participation in the preservation of the environment and aimed at providing a global perspective in this issue in the Balkan area.
International Eco-Peace Village
A very important development in this field is the setting up of the International Eco-peace Village of Cyprus. This Trust - NGO has an international vision to contribute to the broader peace goals of Cyprus and other countries in the region and internationally.
Its mission is to create an eco-sensitive, international peace village which will focus on the training of women and youth in ecological issues and sustainable development, conflict prevention and networking between institutions and countries with parallel interests in order to contribute towards sustainability, strengthening of civil society, democracy and peace around the world.
Founding members of the International Eco-Peace Village include parliamentarians, academics and experts in ecology, conflict resolution, gender and youth affairs. An International Board of Directors was formed at a special meeting in Cyprus in October 1998. The next board consisting of 15 distinguished members will be constituted in October 1999.
According to the statement circulated by the executive committee via its development officer "distinguished international patrons, acknowledged for their contribution to sustainable development and peace will promote and support the realisation of the vision and mission of the international eco-peace village. The Commonwealth Secretariat has placed for nine months a technical expert in Cyprus to assist in institution-building and in launching the international eco-peace village".
The International Eco-Peace Village is a very important and necessary step that will benefit the whole population of Cyprus but especially all women of Cyprus whose efforts to save their environment, the ecology of their island and their families from war, bombings and other catastrophes that conflicts bring, has been ongoing.
Educational Programmes
Environmental programmes are underway, promoting the involvement of pupils of both genders on environmental issues. Such programmes are (a) the "Golden -Green Leaf" and (b) the "Young Reporters", which deal with sustainable development issues and pollution.
The health education curriculum, spiral in design, is implemented through all grades of all elementary and secondary schools. One of its nine major components relates to Environmental Aspects and Health aiming at raising pupils` awareness of the dangers caused by pollution on health and in life of the planet as well as at assisting them to make correct decisions on environmental issues.
XI. Commitment to further action/new initiatives.
The new Political Party - the GREEN PARTY or "Ecological and Environmentalist Party" - had a number of women in their electoral campaign, and a sizeable number of women on their executive body. This has been an example for other more traditional, stronger in membership and older in existence political parties. They are committed to bring along others in their worthwhile efforts as women of other political parties have an important role to play as catalysts within their political groupings.
XII.1. Examples of successful policies, programmes and projects to implement the critical areas of concern of the Beijing Platform for Action: targets and strategies set and related achievements.
Cyprus generally does not face problems regarding child exploitation. In particular, in the field of employment no problems at all are faced in Cyprus as regards child exploitation. The existing legislation for the protection of children at work is most effective. It is also important to note that, in Cyprus, education at the primary school and at the Gymnasium is compulsory until the pupil completes the Gymnasium cycle or the 15th year of his/her age, whichever of the two occurs first. Moreover, approximately 80% of children in Cyprus continue and complete secondary education (usually at 18 years of age). Some pupils work during their summer vacations from school and they mainly do so for the purpose of earning some extra pocket money. It is noted that the family unit in Cyprus is still very tight and parents usually make every effort to support their children with the means they need for their living, education or training. Furthermore, as far as sexual exploitation is concerned (trafficking, prostitution or pornography) is non-existent in Cyprus.
Although, child exploitation is non existent in Cyprus, the government is very sensitive on the issue, and is watching it closely. Children's issues, in general (e.g. education, health, protection) are high on the government's Strategic Development Plan.
- 13,5% of the national budget corresponds to expenditure for all levels of education (Statistics of Education, 1995/96).
- About 25 % of the public assistance recipients are children. Included in those cases are disabled children who receive a monthly allowance by law (Department of Social Welfare Services, 1998).
- Annually, the government subsidizes children's programmes operated by NGOs and Local Community Councils. In 1998, about 37% of the state grants for NGOs was allocated to children's programmes.
Legal Protection
A series of National Laws offer child protection in various fields:
The Children and Young Persons (Employment) Law, Cap 178 (as amended by Law No. 61 of 1964, 18 of 1968 and 239 of 1990) protects children of both sexes from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education or to be harmful to the child's health, or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development. Some of the basic provisions of the above Law are the following:
- no child under 15 may be employed in any occupation,
- no child (under the age of sixteen) may engage or be employed in any industrial undertaking,
- no child (under the age of sixteen) or young person (under the age of eighteen) may engage or be employed in any occupation underground or in mines.
To improve the above legislation and bring it fully in line with the acquis communautaire and other international standards (i.e. Article 7 of the European Social Charter), the Government of Cyprus is in the process of amending it. A relevant draft law is now under vetting at the government's Legal Service. A basic amendment proposed, through this draft law, is the extension of the prohibition of night work, for persons under 18, to cover also non-industrial undertakings. Moreover, in 1997 the Cyprus Government has ratified the ILO Convention No 139 concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment.
In addition, there is a number of relevant international instruments, which have been ratified by law by the Cyprus Government and under Article 169.3 of the Constitution and they have superior force to any domestic law. These instruments include:
- Article 7 (paragraphs 1,3,7, and 8) of the European Social Charter.
Within the legislative framework of child protection, the following acts are specified as criminal offences as regards sexual exploitation of children:
- The Children Law, Cap.352/Section 55: Causing and encouraging seduction, unlawful carnal knowledge or prostitution of or the commission of an indecent assault upon a girl under the age of sixteen years.
Furthermore, the following national Laws offer a complete child protection:
Law of 1994 (Law No. 47(I) of 1994).
1990).
- The Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption (Ratification) Law of 1994 (Law No. 26(III) of 1994).
- The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Ratification) Law of 1990 (Law No. 243 of 1990).
Other Measures
Besides legislation the Department of Social Welfare Services implements general preventive actions and policies for families and children. Such actions include family and individual counselling for families at risk (e.g. cases of domestic violence and substance abuse), public assistance in the form of money and/or services (day-care, home-care, residential care) for children, the elderly and the disabled.
Furthermore, the same Department (through the Community Services) offers technical and financial assistance to non-governmental bodies which develop family supportive services at a local level. Such services aim at promoting wider community participation and development. They range from day-care services for children, the elderly and the disabled to support groups for substance abusers etc.
XII.2. Examples of obstacles encountered/lessons learned.
XII. 3. Commitment to further action/new initiatives.
The Beijing Conference has expanded the agenda on the Human Rights of women, renewing hopes for the achievement of their equality and advancement. World-wide women's issues have and will continue to be developed within the framework of the guidelines and the strategic objectives set in Beijing Platform for Action.
For Cyprus, the Beijing conference has given new impetus, strengthened the political will and intensified the efforts towards legal and de facto equality which have been promoted in particular ever since the ratification of the CEDAW Convention in 1985, another important landmark in the advancement of women.
Thus, the Government of Cyprus, being a State-party to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women which has provided the general framework of its policies on women will continue to fulfil its obligations arising from the CEDAW Convention as well as the Platform for Action.
Based on the strategies and guidelines of the Platform of Action and the commitments made by the Government of Cyprus at the Beijing conference, five years after, we have observed that progress has been achieved in all Critical Areas of Concern and particularly in the following:
enter politics and at creating a more friendly environment for women within political parties as well as the setting up of a non-party lobby group.
All these measures and policies have, to a great extend, been the result of the substancial contribution of the National Machinery of Women's Rights, which promotes equality in all walks of life in close collaboration with NGOs and the civil society. The NMWR will continue working in the above areas giving continuous attention to Cypriot legislation and the further adaptations needed to fully align with Community provisions as well as the further development of practical enforcement measures which will guarantee equal opportunities. Besides these measures, the National Machinery will play a leading role in the implementation of Gender Mainstreaming, aiming at the engendering of all national development plans and policies in parallel to the "traditional equality policies/projects" which will be continued and increased.
Equality, Development and Peace, as clearly stated at the Beijing Conference, are interrelated and it has to be reiterated that in Cyprus – a state in armed conflict for 25 continuous years – all struggles for the promotion and advancement on the status of women goes in parallel with the struggle for peace.
The Government of Cyprus is strongly committed to pursue further policies and programmes promoting legal and real equality of Women and Men besides the struggle for the restoration of Human Rights, Peace and Justice on the island, which is the ultimate goal.
************
APPENDIX: STATISTICAL INFORMATION ON:
A) POPULATION ISSUES
TABLE 1: COMMON INDICATORS FOR MEASURING DEVELOPMENT PROGRESS
1992 End |
1997 End |
|||||
| Both Sexes | Males | Females | Both Sexes | Males | Females | |
| Population | 619.200 |
308.500 |
310.700 |
657.900 |
328.000 |
329.900 |
| Urban | 418.900 |
453.000 |
||||
| Rural | 200.300 |
204.900 |
||||
| Population Growth | 2,7 |
2,7 |
2,6 |
0,9 |
0,9 |
0,9 |
| Total Fertility rate | 2,49 |
n.a. |
n.a. |
2,00 |
n.a. |
n.a |
| Fertility rate for women aged 15-19 |
32,1 |
n.a. |
n.a.. |
13,5 |
n.a. |
n.a. |
| Life expectancy at birth | (1992/93) |
74,6 |
79,1 |
(1996/97) |
75,0 |
80,0 |
| Infant Mortality rate | 10,0 |
10,5 |
9,2 |
8,0 |
8,1 |
7,9 |
| Under five mortality rate | 12,3 |
13,5 |
10,9 |
9,4 |
9,9 |
8,9 |
| School enrolment ratios Primary Secondary |
101 93 |
101 92 |
101 94 |
99 96 |
99 93 |
100 98 |
| Ratio of literate females to males at ages 15 years & over |
92 |
n.a. |
n.a. |
- |
- |
- |
| Unemployment ratio | 1,8 |
1,3 |
2,6 |
3,4 |
2,7 |
4,5 |
| Employment – population ratio % of labour force engaged in agriculture industry services |
44,1 12,2 28,5 59,3 |
53,8 11,5 31,9 56,6 |
34,5 13,2 23,3 63,5 |
43,9 9,5 23,9 66,6 |
53,5 10,1 29,2 60,7 |
34,3 8,7 15,8 75,5 |
| Employer | 5,8 |
8,4 |
1,6 |
2,1 |
3,0 |
0,7 |
| Self employed | 14,7 |
18,4 |
8,6 |
16,2 |
20,0 |
10,5 |
| Employee & apprentice | 77,2 |
72,9 |
84,2 |
80,1 |
76,8 |
85,0 |
| Unpaid family workers | 2,3 |
0,3 |
5,6 |
1,6 |
0,2 |
3,8 |
| Adult literacy rate | 94 |
98 |
90 |
- |
- |
- |
| Net primary enrolment ratio | 98 |
98 |
98 |
96 |
95 |
96 |
| Net secondary enrolment ratio | 89 |
88 |
90 |
91 |
89 |
94 |
| Average no. of years of schooling completed |
9,4 |
10,1 |
8,7 |
|||
| No. of victims of violence per 1.000 people |
0,15 |
0,22 |
0,08 |
0,29 |
0,42 |
0,16 |
| No. of persons in prison per 100.000 people |
73,2 |
139,8 |
7,2 |
114,6 |
221,0 |
8,8 |
TABLE 2: LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH
| Male | Female | |
| 1979/1981 | 72,3 | 76,0 |
| 1987/1991 | 74,1 | 78,6 |
| 1996/1997 | 75,0 | 80,0 |
TABLE 3: INFANT MORTALITY
| Male | Female | |
| 1983 | 14,8 | 10,5 |
| 1992 | 10,2 | 12,0 |
| 1997 | 8,1 | 8,0 |
TABLE 4: CHILD MORTALITY (1-4 YEARS, PER 1000 LIVE BIRTHS)
| Male | Female | |
| 1983 | 0,3 | 0,4 |
| 1992 | 0,5 | 0,4 |
| 1997 | 0,3 | 0,1 |
TABLE 5: CRUDE MORTALITY
| Male | Female | |
| 1983 | 0,3 | 0,4 |
| 1992 | 0,5 | 0,4 |
| 1997 | 0,3 | 0,1 |
TABLE 6: MAIN CAUSES OF DEATH* 1997
| Male | Female | |
| Cardiovascular disease | 807 | 750 |
| Neoplasms | 254 | 196 |
| Respiratory disease | 210 | 175 |
TABLE 7: FERTILITY RATE
| 1980 | 2,46 |
| 1990 | 2,43 |
| 1997 | 2,00 |
TABLE 8: FERTILITY RATE 15-19
| 1980 | 35,6 |
| 1990 | 36,0 |
| 1997 | 13,5 |
TABLE 9: PERCENTAGE OF BIRTHS ATTENDED BY TRAINED PERSONNEL
| 1980 | 100,0 |
| 1990 | 100,0 |
| 1997 | 100,0 |
TABLE 10: HIV** ADULT PREVALENCE RATE (%)
| Total pop. | Male | Female | |
| Grude | 0,03 | 0,05 | 0,01 |
| 15-50 years | 0,03 | 0,05 | 0,01 |
| Pregnant women | - | - | 0,0%* |
*Two cases out of around 30.000 prenatal tests since 1986
**HIV + male to female ration 6:1
TABLE 11: TEENAGE PREGNANCIES*
| Rate per thousand | |
| 1985 | 28,5 |
| 1990 | 31,0 |
| 1997 | 11,8 |
*Teenagers 15-19 who are mothers or pregnant with their first child.
TABLE 12: EXTRAMARITAL BIRTHS
| Rate per thousand | |
| 1985* | 28,5 |
| 1990* | 31,0 |
| 1997* | 11,8 |
* Whole of Cyprus
**Government controlled areas
TABLE 13: SMOKING HABITS*
Percentage who are smokers |
|||
| Male | Female | Total | |
| 1989 survey** | 42,5 | 7,2 | 24,2 |
| 1998 survey** | 38,5 | 7,6 | 23,1 |
*Cyprus at bottom of table on prevalence of smoking habit among 18 European countries (males in the middle and females at the bottom of the table) but per capita consumption shows increasing trends in both males and females
**Different methodologies
B) EDUCATION AND TRAINING
TABLE 14: UNIVERSITY OF CYPRUS
SEX |
1970-71 |
1975-76 |
1979-80 |
1985-86 |
1990-91 |
1995-96 |
| Total | - |
- |
- |
- |
486 |
1.962 |
| Males | - |
- |
- |
- |
58 |
353 |
| Females | - |
- |
- |
- |
428 |
1.609 |
| % of females |
88,06 |
82 |
TABLE 15: GENERAL EDUCATION - PUPILS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF CYPRIOT EDUCATION
Year: 1995-96
Level |
Total |
Males |
Females |
% of females on total |
| Primary | 64.660 |
33.534 |
31.126 |
48,14 |
| Secondary | 59.845 |
30.225 |
29.620 |
49,49 |
| Higher in Cyprus | 8.874 |
3.617 |
5.257 |
59,24 |
| Higher abroad | 9.213 |
5.127 |
4.086 |
44,35 |
TABLE 16: CYPRIOT STUDENTS ABROAD BY SEX
SEX |
1970-71 |
1975-76 |
1979-80 |
1985-86 |
1990-91 |
1995-96 |
| Total | 9.236 |
11.770 |
12,214 |
10.312 |
9.028 |
9.213 |
| Males | 6.984 |
7.325 |
7.459 |
6.319 |
5.393 |
5.127 |
| Females | 2.252 |
4.445 |
4.625 |
3.993 |
3.635 |
4.086 |
| % of females |
24,38 |
37,76 |
37,86 |
38,72 |
40,26 |
44,35 |
TABLE 17: STUDENTS IN CYPRUS TERTIARY EDUCATION BY SEX
SEX |
1970-71 |
1975-76 |
1979-80 |
1985-86 |
1990-91 |
1995-96 |
| Total | 801 |
602 |
986 |
3.134 |
6.554 |
8.874 |
| Males | 448 |
361 |
530 |
1.627 |
3.177 |
3.617 |
| Females | 353 |
241 |
456 |
1.507 |
3.377 |
5.257 |
| % of females |
44,06 |
40,03 |
46,25 |
48,08 |
51,52 |
59,24 |
C) STATISTICS IN EMPLOYMENT
TABLE 18: MEAN AND MEDIAN MONTHLY RATES OF PAY IN CYPRUS,
| YEAR | MEAN RATES | MEDIAN RATES | ||||
| Men | Women | Differential | Men | Women | Differential | |
| 1984 | 369 |
221 |
67,0% |
298 |
182 |
63,7% |
| 1985 | 384 |
243 |
58,0% |
320 |
194 |
64,9% |
| 1986 | 399 |
252 |
58,3% |
330 |
199 |
65,8% |
| 1987 | 428 |
271 |
57,9% |
350 |
213 |
64,3% |
| 1988 | 453 |
293 |
54,6% |
375 |
233 |
60,9% |
| 1989 | 485 |
316 |
53,5% |
400 |
248 |
61,3% |
| 1990 | 532 |
349 |
52,4% |
436 |
283 |
54,1% |
| 1991 | 577 |
379 |
52,2% |
474 |
306 |
54,9% |
| 1992 | 630 |
418 |
50,7% |
520 |
344 |
51,2% |
| 1993 | 686 |
458 |
49,8% |
567 |
375 |
51,2% |
| 1994 | 737 |
493 |
49,5% |
599 |
407 |
47,2% |
| 1995 | 738 |
521 |
41,6% |
622 |
431 |
44,3% |
| 1996 | 759 |
546 |
39,0% |
637 |
449 |
41,9% |
Calculations by Industrial Relations Service, based on figures of the Department
of Statistics.
The "differential is defined as [{M:F]-1), where
M - men’s rate of pay and W- women’s rate of pay
TABLE 19: FULL TIME WORKERS BY LEGAL ENTITY AND SEX
DURING THE WEEK 8-14 MAY 1995
LEGAL ENTITY |
TOTAL |
% OF TOTAL FULL TIME WORKERS |
FEMALE |
% ON RESPECTIVE LEGAL ENTITY |
| TOTAL FULL TIME WORKERS | 246.878 |
100 |
97.248 |
39,39 |
| GOVERNMENT | 33.389 |
13,52 |
13.223 |
39,60 |
| SEMI GOVERNMENT | 8.684 |
3,51 |
2.634 |
30,33 |
| LOCAL AUTHORITY | 3.205 |
1,29 |
837 |
26,12 |
| COOPERATIVE | 2.415 |
0,98 |
1.213 |
50,23 |
| PRIVATE | 192.523 |
78,00 |
77.142 |
40,01 |
| OTHER* | 6.662 |
2,70 |
2.199 |
33,01 |
Other* - Religious institutions, associations and clubs, British Military Bases, NAAFI,
U.N. staff, foreign diplomatic missions.
Source: - Department of Statistics
TABLE 20: EMPLOYMENT BY OCCUPATIONAL GROUP
AND SEX AT REGISTRATION YEARS 1989-1995
| ISCO 1988 |
OCCUPATIONAL GROUP |
1989 |
1995 |
S E X |
1. |
Legislators, senior officials and managers |
6.529 5.966 560 8,60 |
5.620 4.961 659 11,72 |
Total Males Females % females in total |
2. |
Professionals | 18.391 10.666 7.725 42 |
24.234 13.016 11.218 46,29 |
Total Males Females % of females in total |
3. |
Technicians and associate professionals |
26.847 15.205 11.642 43,36 |
28.578 19.128 9.450 33,06 |
Total Males Females % of females in total |
4. |
Clerks | 17.922 7.043 10.879 60,70 |
37.193 12.362 24.831 66,76 |
Total Males Females % females in total |
5. |
Service workers and shop and market sales workers |
37.139 21.442 15.697 42,26 |
46.725 25.401 21.324 45,63 |
Total Males Females %of females in total |
6. |
Skilled agricultural and fishery workers |
623 603 20 3,21 |
629 610 19 3,02 |
Total Males Females % of females in total |
7. |
Craft and related workers | 40.719 36.371 4.348 10,68 |
42.255 39.344 2.911 6,89 |
Total Males Females % of females in total |
8. |
Plant and machine operators and assemblers |
25.442 15.272 10.170 39,97 |
25.275 17.576 7.699 30,46 |
Total Males Females % of females in total |
9. |
Elementary occupations | 29.466 14.971 14.495 49,19 |
36.369 17.232 19.137 52,62 |
Total Males Females % of females in total |
| TOTAL | 230.075 127.539 75.536 32,83 |
246.878 149.630 97.248 39,39 |
Total Males Females % of females in total |
D) WOMEN AT THE DECISION-MAKING LEVEL
TABLE 21: CYPRIOT WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNMENT AT HIGHEST LEVELS, 1985-1998
1985 |
1992 |
1998 |
||||
Males |
Females |
Males |
Females |
Males |
Females |
|
| Presidency | 6 |
- |
6 |
- |
7 |
- |
| House of Representatives | 1 |
- |
1 |
- |
8 |
- |
| Ministry of Defence | 1 |
- |
2 |
- |
17 |
- |
| Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources |
10 |
- |
10 |
- |
11 |
- |
| Ministry of Justice | 3 |
- |
3 |
- |
9 |
- |
| Ministry of Commerce and Industry |
7 |
- |
6 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
| Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance |
5 |
- |
6 |
- |
6 |
1 |
| Ministry of Interior | 19 |
- |
21 |
- |
13 |
- |
| Ministry of Foreign | 2 |
- |
2 |
- |
17 |
- |
| Ministry of Finance | 18 |
- |
28 |
1 |
30 |
5 |
| Ministry of Education | 6 |
- |
7 |
- |
8 |
- |
| Ministry of Communications and Works |
9 |
- |
9 |
- |
10 |
- |
| Ministry of Health | 14 |
- |
12 |
2 |
68 |
12 |
| Other (Independent Services) | 16 |
- |
15 |
- |
86 |
25 |
117 |
- |
128 |
4 |
295 |
45 |
|
Source: Government Budget for 1985, 1992 and 1998
Note: As from 1998 the post of Ombudsman is held by a woman.
TABLE 22: INDICATOR OF WOMEN AS ECONOMIC DECISION-MAKERS IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYERS AND OWN-ACCOUNT WORKERS.
TOTAL |
MALES |
FEMALES |
||||
No |
% |
No |
% |
No |
% |
|
1985 |
45.100 |
100,0 |
40.500 |
89,9 |
4,600 |
10,2 |
1989 |
47.880 |
100,0 |
41.082 |
85,8 |
6,798 |
14,2 |
1995 |
47.100 |
100,0 |
38.650 |
82,1 |
8,450 |
17,2 |
Source: Dept. of Statistics and Research.
TABLE 23: DECISION-MAKING IN THE LABOUR FORCE ADMINISTRATIVE AND MANAGERIAL WORKERS
TOTAL |
MALES |
FEMALES |
||||
No |
% |
No |
% |
No |
% |
|
1985 |
3.000 |
100,0 |
2.800 |
93,3 |
200 |
6,7 |
1989 |
4.800 |
100,0 |
4.300 |
89,6 |
500 |
10,4 |
1995 |
5.600 |
100,0 |
4.900 |
87,5 |
700 |
12,5 |
Source: Registration of Establishments 1985, 1989 and 1995, Dept. of Statistics and Research.