Strategy approved to protect abused children

A NATIONAL strategy to protect children against abuse and child pornography has been approved, Labour minister Zeta Aimilianidou announced on Wednesday.

The strategy has been in the works for months as part of an ad hoc ministerial committee comprised of the labour, justice, health and education ministries with Anastasia Papadopoulou serving as a consultant.

One in four children are sexually abused or exploited on the island, according to a University of Cyprus study, while there has been an increasing number of cases filed to the police rising from 76 in 2014 to 135 in 2015.

“The strategy aims to cover a gap which exists,” Justice minister Ionas Nicolaou said, which would focus on preventing such problems and help resolve them.

Although no details were announced, Papadopoulou said there was also an action plan with several key elements already in effect.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.