Actions of the Institution

For the purposes of the campaign which has been Initiated by the Council of Europe, we contacted the Media to raise awareness of the public about protecting children from sexual abuse. We managed to publish articles on the signing of the petition by the citizens of Cyprus to local newspapers, and more articles will be published soon. ''Hope for Children' has devoted a website for the campaign of 'One in five children - Stop Sexual Violence against Children' CoE, and created a group on a social network page. Lectures will take place at universities throughout Cyprus regarding the issue of the abuse of minors. The «HFC» as part of the campaign urges people to sign the petition, which proposes the Government to ratify the Council of Europe Convention for the protection of children against sexual exploitation and abuse. The Convention (Lanzarote) was signed on October 25, 2007 by the Republic of Cyprus but has not yet been ratified. The ratification is crucial for the harmonization with Coucl of Europe’s standards for protecting the rights of all citizens. Sexual exploitation is a terrible and deeply traumatic experience and its victims suffer in silence. It is the duty of the Republic to put an end to it and the first step in this direction is the ratification of Lanzarote.

In order to implement the campaign, We are running a “University awareness Campaign” in all the university in Cyprus, awareness campaign by the roads, we will translate the book, website, posters, and video clip of 'The Underwear Rule' in the Greek language. The video clip of 'The Underwear Rule' will be broadcasted by local TV channels. A series of lectures will be conducted in all cities in Cyprus (Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, and Paphos); series of training will be conducted for parents, teachers, social workers, carers and civil society members. A conference will be organized and take place in October, 2011, and more events for children will be held as well.