VISAR’s first Mutual Exchange and Learning Event, titled "Support for victims of domestic violence: Recent developments in Greece and Cyprus," was held on Wednesday, 18 February 2026. The event adopted a hybrid format with a duration of 4 hours, enabling the participation of 43 Greek and Cypriot representatives from the judiciary, law enforcement authorities, public social support services and civil society organizations and legal practitioners.
The event focused on presenting recent developments in Greece and Cyprus with the aim to:
• Exchange experiences and best practices between Greece and Cyprus, strengthening the protection of victims and generating maximum practical benefit for the target group (Judicial authorities, Law enforcement authorities, social victim support services (adults and minors), Civil Society Organizations, Legal professionals) & aligning victim support with EU Directive 2012/29/EU.
• Analyze recent legislative developments and victim support tools related to domestic violence in both countries, providing, among other things, a broader perspective for understanding developments and addressing the domestic violence institutional framework in Greece and Cyprus in the post-pandemic period.
A large number of different institutions and people participated in the event both from Cyprus & Greece (43 participants). The event was moderated by Professor Vasiliki Artinopoulou as scientific coordinator of the project and Dr. Konstantinos Panagos as junior researcher, with contributions from international project partners from Germany, Prof. Trygve Ben Holland from HfÖV and Italy, Mr. Sergio Bianchi Director of Agenfor International.
Institutional representation spanned across the Cyprus Judicial School & the National School of Judicial Officers of Greece, the Cypriot & Hellenic Police as well as the Social Welfare Services of Cyprus and Greece. Other specialized organizations such as SPAVO in Cyprus, Cypriot Children House “Hope For Children" CRC Policy Center & the Greek "Children’s House" in Thessaloniki, as well as the "Woman’s House" in Cyprus were also significantly involved, presenting among others their experience and good practices in supporting victims of domestic violence (here you may find the agenda of the event).
Last but not least, central to the events’ elements were i) the presentation of projects tools i.e. the introduction of an AI platform developed to assist services that support victims of domestic violence and the presentation of the Model Cooperation Agreements among CSOs and state authorities developed within projects lifespan, as a strategic element to bridge the gap between state institutions and civil society.
