The implementation of immediate assistance for victims of domestic violence "ELPIS", under the supervision of the Police, has been fully operational since last month, aiming at ensuring that no woman in danger is left helpless.
The "ELPIS" application has been operating since 14 July 2025 on a nationwide basis, while it had been put into pilot operation since the beginning of the year, only for Nicosia. At the moment, 24 women victims of domestic abuse have this application on their mobile phones and it is expected that other women who have either been victims of domestic violence in the past or will be subjected to violence, will have access to the program that will provide them with immediate assistance, in case they are at risk of being abused by their husbands again. partner or other people within the family. The "Elpis" application is a specially designed application for mobile phones, which provides the opportunity to people who are at increased risk of domestic violence and are threatened or in danger to their life or physical integrity, to turn to the Police for immediate help and protection.
Since the day of the application's launch, the Police have granted access to the application to 24 women, on a nationwide basis. This means that women who access the app after being given the passwords will have it on their mobile phone without the perpetrator knowing. Thus, in case they feel that they are in danger of falling victim to abusive behaviour again, they will press the "SOS" button of the application and the duty officer will be immediately notified. He will immediately inform the nearest patrol car, since by pressing the button the location of the victim will be sent. In a few minutes, a patrol car will be in the area where the prospective victim lives and so the police officers will intervene before there is an escalation of the episode. The app will operate 24 hours a day and staff have been trained for immediate response. Some technical difficulties in locating the correct address of the victim have been resolved and so it is estimated that everything will go smoothly to save lives.
As reported to us by the Ministry of Justice and Public Order, this is an obligation stemming from both the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women, also known as the Istanbul Convention, and the implementing law of the 2021 Convention, which criminalizes all forms of violence against women and establishes a strong network for the protection of victims of gender-based violence in Cyprus.
In order to acquire further know-how and expertise on the operation of this application, the expertise of the Greek authorities was sought for this issue, which apply a corresponding "Panick Button" for victims of gender-based and domestic violence. In this context, the Minister of Justice and Public Order, Marios Hartsiotis, held contacts and meetings in Athens last January, with the Minister of Citizen Protection, Michalis Chrysochoidis, the Deputy Minister of Social Cohesion and the Family, Katerina Papakosta-Palioura, and the Secretary General of Equality and Human Rights, Katerina Patsoyiannis. The meetings were attended by technocrats from the Ministry of Justice and Public Order and the Police, who benefited from the extensive knowledge and experience of their Greek colleagues/counterparts on this issue.
The "ELPIS" application, as explained to "F", utilizes modern technology and offers the opportunity to victims of domestic violence to contact the Police and ask for help, activating the "SOS" button on their mobile phone to send an emergency message, when they do not have the ability to do so in any other way and are in immediate danger. The application was developed by the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority and its subsidiary Cytacom Solutions Ltd.
The person in charge of the program is Mrs. Evi Nicolaou, responsible for the Sub-Directorate for the Management of Cases of Vulnerable Persons and the Branch for the Handling of Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Issues of the Police.
The goal is prevention before abuse
The "ELPIS" application is estimated to add an additional important tool in the hands of the prosecution and investigative authorities to combat gender-based and domestic violence. Above all, however, it will contribute to the effective prevention of serious incidents of domestic violence, providing victims of violence with the maximum possible safety and protection.
Through the use of this application, the Police will now be able to intervene immediately, any day and time of the week, wherever the victim may be, distancing him from the abusive environment and the perpetrator who threatens him. The Police, we were told, in the context of its coordinated efforts to prevent and effectively deal with gender-based and domestic violence, urges the public, women and men, where and wherever they find that there is an increased risk, to exploit the potential of this technological application. The selection of people who will have access to the application will be made after evaluation.
Through this application, the State supports and actively supports women who experience violence, ensuring their right to a life free of violence, abuse and fear, the Minister of Justice and Public Order told "F". The "ELPIS" application is expected to give hope to the lives of dozens, if not hundreds of women who experience domestic violence and are anxiously asking for a safe and effective solution to the problem that afflicts them and concerns not only them, but also society and the State as a whole, he said.
He expressed his satisfaction with the creation and operation of the "ELPIS" application, which, as he said, in the countries where it is implemented, has saved the lives of hundreds of women. As he added, the operation of the application demonstrates the continuous commitment of the State to the fight for zero tolerance towards all forms of violence and abuse, adding that it is the result of many years of systematic work of the Ministry and the Police. Mr. Hartsiotis stressed that "Elpis" also comes to add an additional important tool in the hands of the prosecution and investigative authorities for combating violence and at the same time will contribute to the effective prevention of incidents of domestic violence.
It is noted that the operation of this application is a pre-election commitment of the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, which was made possible to be implemented, within the framework of the Government Program, after intensive and coordinated efforts between the Police, the Ministry of Justice and Public Order and the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority.
Recently, during the announcement of the operation of the application, the Chief of Police, Themistos Arnaoutis, had stressed that the protection of human life and dignity is a timeless and non-negotiable priority for the Cyprus Police, noting at the same time that "we are constantly strengthening and modernizing the means and tools we have, so that we can intervene in a timely, responsible and effective manner, especially when the need is urgent and time is crucial for saving lives."
