STA, 7 February 2021 - Nearly a week after actress Mia Skrbinac publicly accused an unnamed actor and drama teacher of sexually harassing her while she was a student, the academy said it expected their former student would file a complaint shortly, while some media have named the professor.
"We cannot confirm any name yet, but we will, as soon as we receive [the complaint] initiate all procedures, including with the police, if the complaint indicates a suspected criminal offence," the Ljubljana Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television (AGRFT) said in response to a query by the STA.
Some Slovenian media have named the alleged harasser as Matjaž Tribušon, a 57-year-old award-winning film and theatre actor with the SNG Drama Ljubljana, who also teachers drama at the AGRFT. The STA has been unable to reach him for comment.
"For the time being, the academy only has information that has been published in the media. Considering that RTV Slovenija reported [...] again that Mia Skrbinac is working on her complaint, we believe she will submit it next week," the AGRFT said.
The academy also said that Skrbinac had told them she was still considering what kind of complaint to make and where. They plan to wait for her decision before taking further steps.
The decision to wait was partly due to the opinion of NGOs helping sexual abuse victims which believe it is up to the victim to decide when and how to report the harasser.
Aleksandra Golec, the spokesperson for the Ljubljana Police Department, said she could not comment on a concrete case, but the department had not received any such complaint or a report.
However, the police said anyone can report an offence that is prosecuted ex-officio, while "state bodies and those having public powers" have an obligation to report such an offence to the police, and police can open an investigation based on indications from the media in case of such an offence.
Skrbinac was the first public figure in Slovenia to come forward as a victim of sexual harassment since the start of the Slovenian offshoot of the #MeToo movement.
In a programme aired on the main news and the magazine show Tednik on TV Slovenija on Monday she revealed how she had been subjected to psychological and physical violence by an unnamed actor professor during acting classes and outside class between 2014 and 2016.
"He would wait for me outside the toilets, at the Drama [theatre house] bar, and elsewhere," she said. A fellow student of hers at the time, Sara Lucu, corroborated the professor's inappropriate behaviour for the programme.
