During my ESC in the Humanitarian Division at Hope for Children’s Larnaca shelter, I often engaged with cases that highlighted the vulnerability of children to trafficking and exploitation. While discussing one such case with the Protection Officer of the shelter, she mentioned the NGO Cyprus Stop Trafficking. Intrigued by the organization’s mission, I made some research, and I discovered that trafficking has long been a hidden but pervasive issue in the country. This led me to contact the founder, Ms. Androula Christophidou Henriques, asking for an interview to discover more about the challenges the organization faced and its achievements.
Q: Ms. Henriques, how did you first become aware of the issue of human trafficking in Cyprus?
Ms. Henriques explains that the earliest documented instances of trafficking in Cyprus date back to 1992, but there was a pervasive silence surrounding the issue. “No one cared,” she says. It wasn’t until 2006, when she met Father Savvas of Limassol, that she came face-to-face with the gravity of the problem. Father Savvas had set up a shelter for young girls who had been trafficked into Cyprus under the guise of the Artist Visas, a government-created visa that traffickers exploited to bring women into the country under false promises, only to exploit them sexually in cabarets.
Q: What was the government’s stance at the time? Did you attempt to collaborate with the authorities?
Her answer is blunt: “There was no knowledge—or willingness to know—about trafficking in Cyprus at the time.” Even more shockingly, the government seemed complicit. She recounts a statement from the authorities: “All Russian women dream of working in Cypriot cabarets.” This attitude revealed that the government was not only aware of the issue but also indirectly enabling it by allowing traffickers to exploit the artist visa system. Despite these challenges, Ms. Henriques began raising awareness about the trafficked women in Cyprus, undeterred by the systemic resistance she encountered.
Q: What led to the creation of Cyprus Stop Trafficking in 2008?
By 2007, Father Savvas’s shelter faced closure due to financial constraints. Thus, Ms. Henriques decided to take action by founding the Association Contre l’Esclavage et l’Exploitation Sexuelle in Geneva to raise funds to keep the shelter operational. However, the scale of trafficking in Cyprus was overwhelming: 108 cabarets were operational at the time, thriving on the exploitation of vulnerable women.
To try to assist the victim of this serious crime, Cyprus Stop Trafficking was established in 2008. The organization launched campaigns to pressure the government to abolish the Artist Visa and, eventually, the European Union also stepped in. Indeed, a woman named Oxana Rantseva was trafficked to Cyprus with the excuse of a job, only to be found dead a few months after arriving. While the authorities classified the episode as suicide, her father brought the case before the European Court of Human Rights, accusing Cyprus and Russia of failing to protect and assist the daughter. In the landmark case of Rantsev v. Cyprus and Russia, judged in 2010, both countries were found guilty of failing to protect victims of trafficking in persons. This case became a turning point, forcing Cyprus to acknowledge the problem.
Q: Were there significant changes after these efforts?
“Yes, but it wasn’t enough,” Ms. Henriques admits. The government tightened the requirements for granting Artist Visas, which led to 80 of the 108 cabarets closing due to a lack of “merchandise.” However, many of the cabaret owners simply opened bars instead, and the exploitation continued under slightly altered conditions.
Victims now began arriving from different regions, primarily the occupied areas of Cyprus, as well as Romania and Bulgaria.
Q: How does Cyprus Stop Trafficking support the victims of trafficking?
“Supporting the victims has always been at the core of our mission,” she emphasizes. Cyprus Stop Trafficking collaborated with the newly created police trafficking unit to investigate cases, while the government opened a shelter for victims. However, this shelter had strict admission rules, and victims were allowed to stay for only one month—far too short a time to recover from the trauma of trafficking.
Recognizing the inadequacy of these measures, Cyprus Stop Trafficking decided to open three shelters:
- A women’s shelter with a capacity for 16 victims, which ended up hosting 63 women and 9 children;
- A men’s shelter for victims of labour trafficking;
- A shelter for teenage mothers and babies.
Q: Were traffickers and exploiters brought to justice?
Ms. Henriques shakes her head in frustration. “Despite efforts, victims lost all the trials against traffickers,” she says. Even when victims were willing to testify, their accounts were dismissed as unreliable. The judicial system failed them, leaving many victims without justice.
Q: What is Cyprus Stop Trafficking’s aim now?
Ms. Henriques shares that while collaboration with the police has diminished, Cyprus Stop Trafficking continues to focus on raising awareness and informing the public about trafficking. From 2009 to 2016, they ran a radio program that shed light on trafficking issues, in spite of some threats they had received.
Despite these challenges, Cyprus Stop Trafficking has found new ways to push for change. One of their current initiatives involves collaboration with KAYAD, an NGO in the Turkish community of Cyprus, to implement bicommunal campaigns that bring attention to trafficking in the whole island, to ensure that the issue is not ignored.
Reflecting on this interview, the strength and determination of Ms. Henriques were evident. Certainly significant strides have been achieved, such as the closure of most cabarets and increased public awareness—a point on which she agrees with me— but her focus remains firmly on the work still to be done. Indeed trafficking is a pervasive issue that continues to mutate and adapt to changing circumstances.
Cyprus has taken steps toward addressing human trafficking, including adopting laws in line with international standards, but the issue requires continued vigilance and action. The relentless advocacy and work of organizations like Cyprus Stop Trafficking is crucial in filling the gaps between policy and action, ensuring that those who are vulnerable to exploitation are protected and supported. Cyprus Stop Trafficking serve as a reminder of the power of activism and the importance of standing up for those who cannot fight for themselves.
