A campaign to protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse launched in Cyprus

On 18 November 2025, the European Day for the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, the Office of the Commissioner for the Rights of the Child launched a new information and awareness campaign aimed at increasing public awareness and mobilising society in Cyprus.

According to official data, in 2024, 438 reports of sexual violence against children were registered, which corresponds to approximately one complaint every 20 hours. The campaign aims to strengthen support for victims and improve early detection of cases.

The programme includes five key demands: to ensure qualified psychological and social assistance to children; to amend legislation so that children can access mental-health services without parental consent in cases where parents are suspected offenders; to improve children’s education through life-skills subjects; to appoint a psychologist in every school; to develop comprehensive policies for timely identification of and response to unacceptable sexual behaviour and other forms of verbal or emotional abuse. It is also proposed to introduce effective mechanisms for identifying and immediately removing online materials related to child abuse, and to ensure close cooperation between the police, digital platforms, and child-protection services.

Citizens were invited to take part in the “20 minutes for one child” action: on 18 November, from 10:00 to 10:20, adults studied the five demands and could devote 20 minutes to awareness activities; school events included tasks where children wrote answers on sticky notes to the question “What do I need to feel safe?” and placed them on a specially designated “O Tichos Echi Foni” wall. Participants were encouraged to post a group photo with the '#20GiaSena' caption on social media as a sign of support.