CAT/C/CYP/CO/4 a violation of the Convention to prosecute conduct solely as ill-treatment where the elements of torture are also present. Domestic violence 9. The Committee welcomes the legislative and other measures aimed at combating domestic violence, including the extension of the legal protection in this area to migrant workers living with their employers and the adoption of the National Action Plan on the Prevention and Handling of Family Violence (2010–2013) (para. 6 (a) above). However, the Committee notes with concern the low number of investigations and convictions, the majority of which ended in a fine, according to the information provided. Moreover, the insufficient assistance to victims, including the lack of legal aid, is a matter of concern, as is the lack of information regarding the implementation and impact of the successive national action plans. The Committee also notes with concern reports that indicate a reluctance of migrant spouses and migrant live-in workers to report violence against them to the police, since their right to a residence permit is linked to the consent of the very same person they intend to denounce (arts. 2, 12, 13, 14 and 16). The State party should redouble its efforts to combat domestic violence, inter alia, by: (a) Ensuring the effective implementation of the legal framework, including its application to live-in domestic workers, by promptly, effectively and impartially investigating all incidents of violence and prosecuting and punishing perpetrators in accordance with the gravity of their acts; (b) Sensitizing and training law enforcement personnel, social welfare officials, prosecutors and judges on the investigation, prosecution and sanctioning of cases of domestic violence and on creating the appropriate conditions for victims to report such cases to the authorities; (c) Taking measures to facilitate complaints by victims and informing them about recourses available; (d) Strengthening the public awareness-raising campaigns to fight domestic violence and gender stereotypes; (e) Undertaking an impact assessment of the various action plans and the criminal justice responses to counter domestic violence, with a view to increasing their effectiveness, and ensure their application to live-in domestic workers; (f) Ensuring that victims of domestic violence benefit from effective protection, including the right to a residence permit independent of the abusive spouse or their migration status, and have access to sufficient and adequately funded shelters, medical and legal aid, psychosocial counselling and social support schemes. Trafficking in persons 10. While welcoming the legislative and other measures to address trafficking in persons (paras. 5 (b) and (c) and 6 (b) above), the Committee is concerned at reports indicating that no offender has ever been convicted for the crime of human trafficking; convictions are handed down, rather, under non-trafficking statutes that impose more lenient sentences. The Committee also regrets the lack of information provided on the measures taken to investigate officials who have participated in this crime. The Committee notes further information indicating that the new Law 60(I)/2014 on trafficking does not provide victims with the right to an effective remedy until they are recognized as victims by the Office of Combating Trafficking in Human Beings of the police, on the basis of its own internal determination procedure. The Committee also takes into consideration deficiencies reported in the provision of social services to victims of trafficking (arts. 2, 12, 13, 14 and 16). 4

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