Country Profile Slovenia

General Country Information

Summary

There is one national women’s helpline in Slovenia, which is free of charge, operates 24/7, and offers multilingual support. There are 29 women-only shelters with 445 beds available and three other shelters accessible to survivors of violence with 28 beds. The country also has 16 women’s centres, one rape crisis centre, and one crisis medical service for survivors of sexualised violence. Slovenia has a National Action Plan, which does not include a definition of primary prevention but outlines some primary prevention activities. The state collects data on women’s specialist services, and this is available upon request.

Women’s Specialist Services

There is one national women’s helpline in Slovenia, called SOS Helpline for Women and Children-Victims of Violence (SOS telefon za ženske in otroke – žrtve nasilja, tel.: +386 801155). It operates free of charge and is available 24/7, meeting the standards of the Istanbul Convention. The helpline offers support in Slovenian, English, Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian. It provides support to survivors of psychological, physical, sexualised and economic violence, as well as stalking and cyberbullying. The helpline is funded by the Ministry for Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, as well as by the Employment Service of Slovenia, the Foundation for Financing Disabled and Humanitarian organisations and local municipalities. In 2024, the helpline provided a total of 2,929 counselling services, through telephone calls, emails, and chat service. The number of people who contacted the helpline was 2,778. In 2024, the most common forms of violence reported by the callers to the state-wide women’s helpline were physical, sexualised and psychological violence. There are no other helplines supporting survivors of violence against women in Slovenia.

There are 29 women-only shelters in Slovenia, offering a total of 445 beds. The number of beds currently meets the country’s needs. However, the cases are becoming more complicated, involving factors such as migration, mental health challenges, substance abuse and special needs, and requiring more specialised support. Therefore, individual housing solutions would be more suitable than the existing model of shared shelter accommodation. Only the three Crisis Centres for Victims of Violence can provide 24/7 access to accommodation. In other shelters, new admissions cannot take place outside the designated hours and procedures. Women are expected to pay for their accommodation in women-only shelters, based on a monthly contribution that amounts to 30% of the financial social assistance. An additional 10% is added for the second child, and 5% for the third child. However, if the survivors are experiencing financial hardships, the payment for accommodation can be adjusted according to their financial means.

The length of the stay is determined based on individual cases; however, it cannot exceed the maximum period of one year. Crisis Centres, which provide immediate accommodation and protection as a first response, can accommodate the survivors for up to three weeks. After this period, women are typically transferred to shelters that offer long-term housing support. Women-only shelters offer in-house services such as casework, counselling and psychological support, referrals and collaborations with other services and practice advice. Although legal advice is not formally provided within the shelters, counsellors support women by referring them to legal representatives.

All women-only shelters are equipped to support women with uncertain residence permits/undocumented women, refugee women, homeless women, women with cognitive disabilities, older women and women with children with disabilities. Women with sensory disabilities can access most of the shelters. Some women-only shelters are equipped to support women with physical disabilities, women with substance abuse issues, transgender women and women with older sons, while no shelters can accommodate unaccompanied girls under the age of 18. One shelter is specialised in supporting women with substance abuse issues who are survivors of violence.

The Ministry for Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities is the main funder for 16 women-only shelters, while other funds come from the Foundation for Financing Disabled and Humanitarian Organisations, municipalities, and donations. Women’s NGOs with a feminist approach run five women-only shelters; nine shelters are run by other NGOs, eight are run by the state (Centres for Social Work), and seven are run by faith-based organisations (Caritas). Women-only shelters are primarily located in cities or smaller urban areas, while rural areas do not provide such services. If women-only shelters had to decline referrals, it was primarily due to the lack of space/capacity to support the survivor or to accommodate survivors with children. In some cases, referrals were also declined if the survivor was ineligible for support. In 2024, the most common forms of violence reported by the survivors to the women-only shelters were physical, sexualised and psychological violence. In 2024, the estimated total number of accommodated women and children in women-only shelters is around 600.

There are three other shelters available in Slovenia, in addition to women-only shelters, offering a total of 28 beds. One is a shelter for students in social distress, including survivors of violence, that offers nine beds regardless of the gender of the survivor and is operated by a student NGO. The second one is a Crisis Centre for survivors of trafficking and is run by the Slovenian Caritas and provides accommodations to individuals of all genders, offering 13 beds in total. In the past two years, the centre has accommodated mainly male survivors of labour trafficking, whereas previously it mostly sheltered female survivors of forced prostitution. The third shelter also supports survivors of trafficking and offers six beds, available to all genders.

Slovenia has 16 women’s centres, three only for women survivors of violence, and 13 for all survivors of gender-based violence, including women. Women’s centres provide counselling and psychological support, financial and social welfare support, housing advice, and referrals/collaborations with other services. Thirteen women’s centres also provide representation at court/police/social services, while six centres provide residential support and emergency accommodation in safe houses. Women’s centres also provide specialist support services for survivors of sexualised violence, such as needs assessment, specialist psychological care, legal advice, community awareness and education for prevention, and specialist sexualised violence advocacy services.

All women’s centres are accessible to women with uncertain residence permits/undocumented women, refugee women and older women. Most women’s centres are equipped to support women with cognitive disabilities, while some centres can be accessed by and are accessible to women with physical disabilities, women with sensory disabilities and unaccompanied girls under the age of 18. Some centres are also specialised in assisting specific groups, such as undocumented and refugee women, older women, and minors. In Slovenia, the Stigma Safe House is intended for women with substance abuse issues who are survivors of violence. Some organisations work with the Roma population and also address violence, providing support and assistance to survivors. In addition, the organisation Legebitra focuses on LGBTQI+ topics, and also offers legal and psychosocial counselling and addresses issues related to experiences of violence.

Eight women’s centres are run by women’s NGOs, three centres are run by other NGOs, three centres are run by religious institutions, while the state runs two centres. Women’s centres are funded by the state, donations and international funding. They cover all regions of Slovenia and in 2024, they supported approximately 14,000 women.

Slovenia has one rape crisis centre for survivors of sexualised violence called the Power Association (Združenje za moč). The association offers individual in-person counselling, telephone and online counselling, support groups and counselling services for minors and adolescents. The crisis centre also provides advocacy services, accompaniment during institutional procedures, assistance with document preparation and support with communication with institutions. All services are free of charge. Moreover, the Association for Nonviolent Communication has a specialised programme for survivors of sexualised violence, including counselling, accompaniment during institutional/court procedures and support in communication with institutions. In Slovenia, there is also a Clinical Forensic Medicine Ambulance, which is part of the Institute of Forensic Medicine. The ambulance offers services such as specialist forensic and medical care, and examinations are also later carried out at the emergency gynaecology department. In Slovenia, survivors of sexualised violence must file a criminal report for the examination to be carried out, and medical professionals are obliged to report the case, which can prevent the survivors from accessing a forensic examination if they are not ready or do not wish to file a report. Women’s organisations in the country are often the first contact point for survivors, and they provide support, counselling, and accompaniment to other services. The rape crisis centre is funded by the state and donations and is located in two major cities in Slovenia (Ljubljana and Maribor). The Clinical Forensic Medicine Ambulance is funded by the state.

Public authorities do not collect data on primary prevention activities. Slovenia has a National Action Plan that does not define primary prevention, but outlines primary prevention activities, such as inclusion of specific topics in the revised school curricula, including gender equality, mutual respect, non-stereotypical gender roles, non-violent communication, gender-based violence against women and girls, the right to personal integrity and the consequences of peer violence. In December 2024, the government also issued an Action Plan for 2024 and 2025, which provides a more detailed outline of prevention measures. Funds for primary prevention are limited and mostly project-based. Activities conducted in Slovenia include empowerment activities for girls and women, primary prevention activities specifically targeted to men and boys, school-based primary prevention programmes, bystander intervention training and training for practitioners, self-care activities and awareness-raising campaigns. Furthermore, the Association for Nonviolent Communication and similar organisations conduct workshops on multiple topics such as peer violence, sexualised violence, and online violence, which are primarily adapted to the needs of young people. These organisations carry out an internal evaluation for each workshop.