One of the most important responsibilities of the Gender Equality Committee in Employment and Vocational Training is to provide independent assistance (free legal aid) to victims of gender-based discrimination.

In the context of providing independent assistance, the Committee has the authority to:

a) provide advice on issues related to discrimination between men and women in employment and vocational training.

b) provide general information to victims about the content of the Law, their rights in case of filing a complaint for less favorable treatment, the competent bodies that can examine such complaints and to which the victim can turn, and the procedures and powers of these bodies.

c) provide legal assistance, including legal advice and/or representation of victims in court proceedings and/or proceedings before administrative bodies and/or independent authorities.

d) track on behalf of the victim, after evaluating the chances of success of the complaint herself and if authorized by him, the appropriate procedure either before the competent Court, or before administrative bodies or independent authorities with the competence to investigate such complaints.


The Committee examines in a session, requests submitted for the provision of independent assistance (free legal aid). If a victim of discrimination wishes to take legal action against a person/organization for a complaint related to gender discrimination in employment or vocational training, they submit a written request to the Commission for approval. The complainant should have made a named complaint and a necessary condition should be the completion of the relevant investigation of the complaint by the Equality Inspector of the Department of Labour. The Committee, after studying the relevant Report of the Equality Inspector and the conclusions/findings included in the Report, decides on the approval or rejection of the independent assistance to the applicant and is informed accordingly. In case of approval, the applicant is entitled to choose the lawyer he wishes (must be a member of the Cyprus Bar Association) with whom he contacts for the registration of the lawsuit in the Court. The selected Lawyer is obliged to inform the Committee at regular intervals about the progress of his client's case.