VZCZCXYZ0007
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLJ #0516/01 2220854
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 100854Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 6030

UNCLAS LJUBLJANA 000516 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
EUR/NCE EHANSEN, G/IWI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SI
SUBJECT: SLOVENIA FOCUSES ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary. In an August 7 meeting, Sonja Robnik, Senior 
Advisor in the government's Office for Equal Opportunities, 
told PolEcon officer that the government of Slovenia is 
working on new legislation that would criminalize domestic 
violence that it will propose soon. Currently there is no 
umbrella legislation protecting victims of domestic violence, 
although, according to Robnik, NGOs estimate that 1 in 3 
women in Slovenia experience domestic violence. The Office 
for Equal Opportunities held a conference in May to focus 
NGOs, police and government on the problem of violence 
against women.  End Summary. 
 
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NEW LAW TO CRIMINALIZE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 
---------------------------------------- 
¶2. (U) The Government of Slovenia (GoS) recognized it needs 
to correct the lack of umbrella legislation on domestic 
violence. PolEcon officer met with Sonja Robnik, Senior 
Advisor in the Office for Equal Opportunities (OEO), on 
August 7, 2007 to discuss the current situation regarding 
domestic violence.  Robnik said the current estimate is that 
1 in 3 women is a victim of domestic violence, which is 
similar to Austria, Germany, and Finland. Slovenia's new 
Human Rights Ombudswoman Cebasek Travnik expressed concern in 
her first annual human rights report that Slovenia lacks 
relevant legislation concerning domestic violence and has 
made reducing all forms of violence a top priority. 
 
¶3. (U) Robnik stated that, until now, domestic violence has 
not been specifically prohibited under the law; it was only 
addressed piecemeal in different legislation. In 2005, the 
UNHRC announced its concern about the lack of specific legal 
provisions.  According to Robnik, the upcoming Act addresses 
this concern. Robnik posited that a big challenge will be how 
to implement this new legislation, which is very good in her 
opinion--at least the draft that she has read. The new 
legislation institutes criminal penalties for perpetrators of 
domestic violence. (Since the end of August 2003, the Police 
Act has provided for the option of obtaining a restraining 
order against perpetrators of domestic violence.) The new act 
also will focus on protection of children in domestic 
violence situations. Multi-disciplinary teams including 
health professionals, social workers, police, NGOs, teachers, 
and counselors will carry out activities for the prevention 
of violence. Free legal advice will be provided in certain 
circumstances. 
 
¶4. (U) Robnik discussed a few of the problems of prosecuting 
domestic violence cases. She cautioned that the problem is 
getting judges to see the issue of domestic violence "through 
the gender lens." To that end, the Office will offer judges 
and prosecutors special training. Police, social workers, and 
nurses already receive training, but the Office cannot oblige 
judges and prosecutors to take the training. She also 
mentioned the long time it takes to bring cases to court; the 
amount of time and energy necessary often results in cases 
being dropped before they are concluded. 
 
------------------------------------ 
CONFERENCE ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN 
------------------------------------ 
¶5. (U) As part of the groundwork to prepare for the new 
legislation, OEO held a one-day conference in May on violence 
against women in which about 120 people participated. 
Professor Katja Filipcic, the writer of the draft Act on the 
Prevention of Domestic Violence, was the keynote speaker and 
reviewed some of the provisions of the draft legislation. For 
this conference, the Office worked closely with NGOs such as 
the Association against Violent Communication and SOS Phone, 
which operates a 24-hour hotline to report abuse. 
Participants included NGOs, police, representatives from the 
60-plus regional centers for social care, nurses, the 
Ministry of Labor, and the 12 regional coordinators for the 
prevention of domestic violence. 
 
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NGOs WORK TO PREVENT MORE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 
------------------------------------------- 
¶6. (U) Robnik said that there are shelters for victims of 
domestic violence in every region of Slovenia but one; these 
shelters are mostly run by NGOs with government support. 
Although there are several NGOs that deal with domestic 
violence, there is only one NGO dealing with the 
perpetrators, the Association against Violent Communication 
(AAVC). AAVC trains perpetrators with social skills such as 
non-violent communication. Prosecutors have the option of 
choosing either to send perpetrators to court or to this 
training. AAVC,s training has had some success. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
BACKGROUND ON OFFICE FOR EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES 
-------------------------------------------- 
¶7. (U) The government of Slovenia (GoS) established OEO in 
2001 as an autonomous governmental office under the Secretary 
General of the GoS. The director's position is chosen through 
public tender for a five year term. Robnik explained that 
historically Slovenes regarded domestic violence as a private 
issue but it became a state issue in the late 1980s as a 
result of NGOs, pressure. The Office for Equal Opportunities 
has three main functions: monitoring the status of women, 
raising awareness, and proposing legislation directly to the 
Government. Being a governmental office, Robnik opined that 
OEO has an advantage because it can work inter-agency and 
cooperate with other ministries. She noted that every 
ministry must appoint a coordinator for equal opportunities 
who cooperates with, and is trained by, OEO. She added that 
about 10 percent of communities have coordinators, too, 
though they are not obliged to do so. 
ROBERTSON