Trans woman complains of repeated harassment
A trans woman has reported being repeatedly harassed and a victim of hate speech to the House human rights committee on Monday, where the justice ministry assured immediate consultations would begin on creating a national LGBTI+ strategy.
The complaint, which was filed to the police as well, was made known by NGO Accept, who was present at the meeting.
Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, Accept confirmed that the woman had her private property repeatedly vandalised with people entering her garden and writing hateful messages on her walls.
She has also been a victim of slurs shouted at her consistently.
One of the most recent described at the meeting is when vandals entered her property and spray painted “Go die” on her wall at her home in the Famagusta area.
Meanwhile, at the meeting, a representative from the justice ministry that deals with human rights, Aristos Tsiartas assured that consultations for a national strategy for LGBTI+ would start immediately.
Tsiartas said that the aim is to present it by the end of 2024.
At the meeting, Accept spokesman Stephanos Evangelides said that the strategy should be prepared as soon as possible, as Cyprus will take over the EU presidency in 2026.
Evangelides stressed the need for proper information and education to ensure respect for human and LGBTI+ rights and underlined the role of education in this goal.
He added that the national strategy should also include LGBTI+ health and healthcare issues, as well as labour rights issues, to avoid gender-based discrimination or termination of employment.
Responding to a question from head of the committee Akel MP Irene Charalambides, he said that same-sex couples who have married in another country and come to Cyprus if they have dual citizenship face difficulties in their paperwork regarding children.
He also noted that civil partnership is not recognised in other countries, such as Greece, where the civil union agreement is in force.
Finally, he referred to the need for training for officers in the police to handle LGBTI+ cases. Evangelides said that progress has been made in this area, but more steps need to be taken in some provinces, such as Famagusta and Paphos. He also referred to individual cases of police officers demonstrating inappropriate behaviour towards LGBTI+ people.