Complaint
File a complaint with the Police
File a complaint with the Police
You have the obligation to report a case of child sexual abuse that you know of or have serious suspicion that it is taking place. If you omit to file a report, you are committing an offence punishable by up to 15 years of imprisonment and/or a fine of up to €20,000.
The Children’s House does not accept direct complaints from the public. Incidents are referred to the Children's House by the Police or the Social Welfare Services.
If you fail to report a case of child sexual abuse of which you are aware, you are committing an offence punishable by up to 15 years of imprisonment or a fine of up to €20,000.
You can report child sexual abuse at the following places:
The Children’s House does not accept direct complaints from the public. Incidents are referred to the Children’s House by the Police or the Social Welfare Services.
The police officer who will assist you will ask you to provide some basic evidence and information on the reported incident and the persons involved (the child and his or her family, the suspect), as well as their contact details. He or she will record this on a special form and forward it immediately to the Police Headquarters for investigation by the Special Investigation Team. Where appropriate, he or she will also inform the Investigation Team immediately by phone.
If the complaint concerns a child in your care/supervision, the child does not necessarily need to be with you at the Police Station when you file the complaint.
All cases of child sexual abuse reported across Cyprus are investigated by a Special Investigation Team based at the Police Headquarters in Nicosia. In some exceptional cases, it is possible for a complaint to be investigated by a District CID in cooperation with the Special Investigation Team, following consultation with the Police Headquarters.
The investigators of this Team are specially trained to investigate cases of child sexual abuse, as well as in methods of obtaining evidence (video-recorded statements) from child victims or witnesses.
The Police informs the Children’s House about complaints received for child sexual abuse. Investigators cooperate with officers of the House and discuss with them in view of coordinating their actions.
The Children’s House provides, amongst other things, specialized facilities for taking video-recorded statements, as well as for the medical examination of children.
Where a psychological assessment of the child is necessary, the Police forwards the request to the Children’s House.
A substantial part of the investigation work is conducted in the area/district where the incident occurred. However, for a small, but very important part of the investigation, and more specifically the video-recording of the statement and/or the forensic/medical examination (where necessary), it is very likely that the affected child will be asked to go to Nicosia, where the Children’s House is located.