Legislation about (forced) sterilisation

In Cyprus, the Mental Health Laws 1997-2007 contain provisions on sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls with disabilities, and the Law on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence related issues 2021 and the Cyprus Criminal Code 1962 address and punish forced sterilisation as an offence.

According to the Mental Health Laws, any intrusive therapy such as sterilisation requires the informed consent of the patient or their legal representative.

Under the Law, forced sterilisation is also criminalised, and the offense is punishable by up to ten years of imprisonment and/or a fine.

According to the information provided by Cyprus in its initial report to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, “women with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities are not subject to forced sterilisation”, and specialized NGO family planning services provide sexual and reproductive education.

Data related to the matter

There are no statistics related to the exercise of sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls with disabilities in this country. In 2020, the Report on Human Rights Practice made for Cyprus stated that “there were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilisation on the part of ‘government’ authorities.”