SLOVENIA FOCUSES ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

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
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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.

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CONFERENCE ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
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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
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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.

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BACKGROUND ON OFFICE FOR EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
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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