Brussels, Belgium. The European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for accountability and survivor support for victims of sexual violence during the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus. A total of 575 MEPs voted in favour, 33 against and 43 abstained.
Resolution adopted after committee approval
The European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality adopted the resolution last month, calling for accountability, meaningful support for survivors, and the full participation of women in peace processes.
Condemnation of crimes and call for redress
The resolution condemns the continued Turkish occupation of Cyprus and the crimes committed by Turkish forces. It highlights the long-lasting consequences for Cypriot women and girls, including conflict-related sexual violence, forced displacement, family separation, psychological trauma, social stigma, and long-term social and economic harm.
It also condemns the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, describing it as a serious violation of the Geneva Conventions. The resolution calls for recognition of these crimes, accountability, redress for victims, and comprehensive support for survivors and their families.
Statements by MEPs
“The Republic of Cyprus and the European Union have a duty to safeguard the rights, dignity and historical memory of all the women of Cyprus,” said GUE/NGL MEP Giorgos Georgiou.
In a recent statement, EPP MEP Loucas Fourlas said: “This is a victory for the women themselves, who found the strength to speak out. At the same time, it sends a powerful message that war crimes and sexual violence are not subject to a statute of limitations, are not forgotten, and cannot be covered up.”
Fourlas also said that “the resolution constitutes a historic recognition of the crimes committed against the women of Cyprus, while at the same time setting an important precedent for addressing other cases of gender-based and conflict-related sexual violence in armed conflicts around the world.”
According to EPP MEP Eleonora Meleti, the Parliament’s rapporteur on the resolution, the number of victims of sexual violence during the 1974 Turkish invasion is estimated at 1,500 people, including men, women and children.
Published testimonies and documented accounts
One of the few public testimonies by a woman who was raped during the 1974 Turkish invasion was published by the Cyprus News Agency in 2016, breaking decades of silence surrounding the issue.
According to Cyprus News Agency and Deutsche Welle, testimonies describe systematic rapes of women by Turkish soldiers in the occupied village of Vouni, as well as in detention camps established in the villages of Vitsada, Marathovounos and Gypsou.
Book account on abortions following rape
According to Chrysanthos Chrysanthou’s book The Other War of the Doctors in 1974, hundreds of women who became pregnant as a result of rape underwent abortions following the adoption of special legislation.
The procedures were carried out in public and private hospitals, as well as in hospitals within the British Sovereign Base Areas. The book also states that, due to the exceptional circumstances, the Church of Cyprus accepted an amendment to the legislation that made these abortions lawful.