One in three women has been the victim of sexual harassment at work, but the number of formal complaints filed does not reflect the scale of the problem. This statement was made by the head of the Ministry of Labor Committee on Gender Equality in Employment and Vocational Training.
From 2011 to date, the committee has received only 35 complaints of sexual harassment, according to its chair Eleni Kuzupi. 10% of complaints were subsequently withdrawn.
However, a 2024 study conducted jointly by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, the European Institute for Gender Equality and Eurostat found that 30.8% of women in the EU and 39.9% in Cyprus have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace during their lifetime. 4.3% of women in the EU and 7.4% of women in Cyprus experienced sexual harassment in the 12 months preceding the survey.
The study found that about 88% of sexual harassment incidents in the workplace were committed by men. In EU countries, 15.8% of women were harassed by colleagues, 7.4% by a manager, and 9.3% reported harassment in the workplace by other men (such as clients).
Why are there so few official complaints?
So why is it that in Cyprus most cases of harassment go unreported? Eleni Kuzupi said victims usually do not file reports for several reasons. These include fear of retaliation, dismissal, criticism, bullying or stigmatization, doubt that victims will be able to find support in their environment, fear of overly complex legal procedures. Many are deterred by the reluctance to recall the trauma of testifying, the psychologically draining nature of the process, or the potential for negative attitudes from institutions. Women are afraid that complaints will limit their prospects for career growth, they are afraid of publicity, believing that the dissemination of information about what happened will discredit them. A significant number of women said they would not speak up about sexual harassment in the workplace because they believed their complaint would not be taken seriously by bosses or colleagues.
“In order for victims to file complaints, they must feel safe and aware of their rights,” Kuzupi said. “They need to know that the institutions will treat them humanely and show compassion. That their complaint will be resolved within a reasonable time and they will be kept informed of the progress of the investigation.”
How does the Gender Equality Committee work?
The Ministry of Labor's Committee on Gender Equality in Employment and Vocational Training provides free consultations and helps determine whether gender discrimination exists in the workplace, and also provides free legal support in cases of discrimination and sexual harassment.
From 2011 to the present, the committee has received 177 complaints, of which: • 62 related to discrimination in promotion, • 50 - violations of the rights of pregnant women and young mothers, • 35 - sexual harassment, • 30 - discrimination in hiring.
More than 150 cases were brought to court, and legal support was provided by the organization’s lawyers. Most of them were decided in favor of the plaintiffs, except for those cases that concerned the National Guard. These cases were found to be outside the district court's jurisdiction.
You can contact the committee by phone 22 400894 and 22 400895, as well as by email [email protected]
The text was prepared based on materials from Phileleftheros.
