STA, 8 March 2021 - Women in the labour market are frequently faced with precarious work forms, discrimination, harassment, sexism and do a lot of unpaid work, trade unions have warned on International Women's Day.

Young people in particular, especially women, are more subjected to precarious work forms. About 80% of females aged between 15 and 25 have fixed-term employment contracts, while for men the share is under 60%, said Mladi Plus, a union representing young workers.

Poverty has become more widespread among young women, mainly due to high unemployment rate in this group and precarious work forms. The unemployment rate among women aged between 25 and 34 is about three percentage points higher than among men.

"Employers often expect them to go on maternity leave, to be on sick leave more often (to provide for children or elderly) and to put family life before their job," the unions said, noting that employers saw this as risky and potentially costly, so they did not hire women as much.

The access to services in elderly care is increasingly restricted rather than being expanded, which means more unpaid work for women because of socially determined roles, and more absence from the labour market.

The state is trying to tackle the issue of higher unemployment of women with tertiary education with subsidies for self-employed women, which seemingly reduced the unemployment rate but does not solve the problem, the union said.

It also pointed to allegations of discrimination and bullying at work. Women looking for a job are often discriminated against and employers sometimes demand that they sign a statement that they will not get pregnant in a certain period.

Women are also still discriminated against when it comes to pay - with the pay gap increasing from 3.3% in 2011 to 9.3% in 2018. In 2016, women in the EU on average received 16.2% lower pay than men.

Mladi Plus also pointed to some unacceptable demands by employers, for example in the hospitality sector, where women are sometimes required to wear short skirts and low-cut tops, and to sexual harassment in institutions that should provide for education and equal opportunities and rights for all.

The union also warned of poverty among older women, who receive lower pension than man because the had also received lower pay.

The Covid-19 epidemic has also hit women hard. Most women who have been absent from work during the epidemic have been on furlough and more women than men have lost their jobs since the start of the epidemic, official statistics shows.

"The measures adopted by governments harm women by deepening the differences between the sexes in terms of unemployment, household choirs and financial security," the union said.

Moreover, jobs that are most exposed to infections are dominated by women in the sectors such as healthcare, social protection, education.

The ZSSS trade union confederation has joined a campaign by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) urging countries on 8 March to ratify the convention of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) against violence and harassment at work.

The union said that the epidemic had made the situation worse for women at work as well as at home, as domestic violence was also on the rise.

The ZSSS said it had called on the Labour Ministry and the government on several occasions to ratify the convention as soon as possible. This would place Slovenia among the first European countries to ratify it or start the ratification process, with Italy being the first one.

"It is the first international labour standard dealing with violence and harassment at work and envisaging efficient measures against it and victim protection," the ZSSS said.

The 8 March Institute, an NGO also warned of gender inequality on the labour market today, noting that the Covid-19 epidemic had aggravated inequalities as women took on the burden of home schooling and household chores, a survey conducted by the NGO has shown.

Particularly vulnerable are single mothers, said the coordinator of the survey, Mark J Užmah.

Tina Tomšič from the NGO said the most vulnerable group in Slovenia were single retired women, while self-employed women were also at risk because they could not go on maternity leave or take sick leave, which meant they did not enjoy labour rights.

A lot more data on women working in Slovenia is here

STA, 8 March 2021 - Žiga Turk, an opinion leader who served as minister of education, science, culture and sport in the 2012-13 Janez Janša government, has been declared the winner of the Silver Thistle for the most sexist quote in the past year for his Twitter comment on rape.

"If sex is a mere recreation, then rape is no worse than a foul. If sex is not recreation, the basic premise of the progressive view on the issue established since 1968 falls," was the tweet, posted on 5 February, that won Turk the censure.

Ampak bistvo se mi zdi drugje. Če je seks samo rekreacija, potem posilsvo ni nič hujšega kot faul. Če pa seks ni rekreacija, pa pade temeljna premisa naprednega™ pogleda na to vprašanje, ki je uveljavljeno od 1968 dalje.

— Žiga Turk (@ZigaTurk) February 5, 2021

Out of 23 sexist statements shortlisted, Turk's won the most negative votes in an online vote between 19 February and 5 March involving 1,667 people. The winner was declared at the conclusion of the 22nd feminist and queer festival Red Dawns on Sunday, held online.

In explanation, the web portal Spol.si said the author of the most sexist statement believed the 1968 revolution turned rape into a sporting offence, as if to say that free choice about sexuality should be conditional on accepting the opinion of rape.

According to the portal, Turk's comment relativises sexual violence, which comes at a time when colleges in Slovenia are examining students' allegations about being sexually harassed by professors.

Izjava o Neži (če bi kdo predstavil obe strani):

Nagrada je nepoštena, nerazumna in nezaslužena. Utemeljitev ⬇️

— Žiga Turk (@ZigaTurk) March 8, 2021

He says it will be perfectly clear to anyone who has read his statement through to the end that he considers rape the worse crime.

He finds the award irrational because he has publicly supported the "only yes means yes" concept of the crime of rape and deems it outrageous because he believes the award is a punishment for his support for the incumbent government.

The Silver Thistle is awarded annually by the Red Dawns collective and the editorial board of spol.si in cooperation with the interested public.

STA, 8 March 2021 - The Slovenian PEN Centre and Mira, the women's committee at the centre, warned of violence against women ahead of Woman's Day, 8 March, while the Manager Association warned of inequalities at work, aggravated by the Covid-19 epidemic. A number of online discussions on the problems and potential of women will be held today.

The Slovenian PEN Centre and Mira addressed a letter featuring a list of eight demands to the government, National Assembly and Slovenian citizens ahead of Woman's Day. Their main demand is redefinition of rape and protection of the rights and duties of citizens in line with the Constitution.

They oppose a model of society that does not allow women to decide freely on giving birth, and call for a legal restriction of hate speech on social media.

They also warn of women and female writers being subjected to physical attacks, mocking, censorship and violations of rights in the pandemic year.

Woman who are publicly stating their opinion are often intimidated, and women - be it politicians, authors, journalists, experts or any other public figures - are targets of smear campaigns more frequently than men, they said.

Seen in Ljubljana, Photo: JL Flanner

The PEN centre and Mira believe that the ban on assembly as part of epidemic measures has narrowed down the possibilities of men and women to stand up to this.

Due to the pressure on the STA, public media and government representatives of ministers who cannot directly and independently communicate with the media, the public and media life is being subjected to censorship and self-censorship, which puts the fundamental right of democracy - the freedom of speech - at risk, they wrote.

According to the Manager Association, the epidemic has made differences between men and women in professional settings worse.

Results of last year's survey by consulting company McKinsey show that one in four women in the US is thinking of quitting her job during the epidemic although she did not even consider this in early 2020. This could jeopardise the results of decades of efforts to achieve gender equality in business, the association warns.

However, this crisis is also an opportunity to make companies more flexible and sympathetic, and create equal opportunities for both sexes, the association said, pointing to appointments of several women to senior positions in Slovenia in recent months.

The epidemic has increased gender inequality, because women took on most of the burden related to providing for children and distance learning as well as household choirs, because men mostly work in the more profitable sectors and because the sectors dominated by women have been more affected by the epidemic.

"This is why it will be an even greater challenge to increase the share of women in top positions in business - in Slovenia it currently stands at about 25%, according to data by the European Institute for Gender Equality," the association said, noting this would be one of the goals of the national programme for equal opportunities of men and women until 2030, which is now in public debate.

One of the measures from the programme is also improving digital competences of women. Slovenia is currently faced with a great challenge of gender segregation in the digital sector, as more than 80% of men are currently educated and employed in this sector, the association said.

Several NGOs have also warned that the health, and social and economic crises have deepened the known problems of women and created new ones. Violence against women is on the rise and it is time for action, SOS Telefon and Iskra said in their call to the government, which was backed by the Karitas Safe House for the Primorska region and the 8 March Institute.

The SOS hotline said that between 1 January and 30 November 2020 an almost 13% rise in the number of cases of domestic violence had been processed by police.

Several events will be held today to mark Women's Day. The PEN centre will host an online reading, and the Office of the European Parliament in Slovenia will host an online debate on the role of women in the fight against the virus.

The Association of Slovenia Journalists will host an online debate on female journalists in the Slovenian society and the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Science and Arts on women's jobs, from factories to offices.

The National Council, the upper chamber of parliament, will mark the day with a debate entitled To Be Successful and to Be Happy.

Women's Day highlights the issue of violence against women every year. In Slovenia, legislative changes redefining rape in line with the principle that only yes means year sponsored by the government, which the 8 March Institute has also been campaigning for, are expected to bring positive changes.

Recently, a debate on violence against women was sparked by actor Mia Skrbinac speaking up about sexual harassment at the Ljubljana Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television.

The United Nations began celebrating 8 March as Woman's Day in 1977 to commemorate the day when women working in the textile industry in New York staged a protest against inhumane working conditions and low pay in 1857.

STA, 5 March 2021 - The 22nd international feminist and queer festival Red Dawns (Rdeče zore)will open on Friday with an exhibition of posters from Polish women's strike entitled To jest wojna. All events will be held online.

The exhibition of protest posters presenting the role of Polish female visual artists in the battle against a ban on abortion will be on display at the Alkatraz gallery at the AKC Metelkova between Monday and Friday until 26 March and will also be available online.

On Sunday, the Silver Thistle for the most sexist statement of 2020 will be conferred by the festival's organisers in cooperation with web portal Spol.si.

On Tuesday, 9 March, Danijela Zajc will stage her performance Niti, which was created at the Cirkusarna NaokROG at the demolished alternative art centre Rog.

According to the author, the performance is inspired by her own experience of living in a traditional environment through which she tries to understand life, and the actions of her grandmothers, mother and sisters while searching for her own place within those relationships.

Music band Balans from Ljubljana will bring music to a poetry reading that will be organised in cooperation with the platform IGNOR.

Asja Novak will lecture about Albanian sworn virgins and present the campaign for redefining rape under the slogan Only Yes Means Yes in cooperation with the 8 March Institute.

The festival will wrap up on 11 March with live broadcast of music performance by Ingver in Gverilke, which will be followed by a video and music performance by Federico Luza Da geht di Sonne unter!

Festival website, Facebook

STA, 17 February 20121 - Collection of 5,000 voter signatures in support of an only-yes-means-yes [samo ja pomeni ja] rape law got under way on Wednesday amid controversy over accessibility of one of the administrative offices in Ljubljana where verified signatures can be submitted. 

The law to redefine rape and sexual violence to use affirmative consent standard is being proposed by the NGO Inštitut 8. Marec, which has 60 days to collect the needed signatures to put the bill forward to the National Assembly.

Signatures in support of the proposal can be submitted in person at an administrative unit or using an electronic signature via e-Administration [see here].

The NGO complained that voters were unable to fill in the form at one of the Ljubljana administrative unit's offices without prior appointment this morning despite assurances by the authorities that this would be possible without appointment during office hours.

The NGO argued that such practice was tantamount to obstruction of basic democratic procedures constitutional rights, urging the relevant authorities to allow unhindered submission of voter signatures.

The Public Administration Ministry and the Ljubljana administrative unit denied the allegation of obstruction to signature registering, explaining that due to coronavirus infections a special counter for signature registration at the Linhartova unit could not be secured so voters can submit their signatures by prior appointment or wait for a free time slot.

A special window for signature registration is available in the Tobačna unit.

Provided enough signatures are collected, the National Assembly will read the proposal following the same procedure as other bills.

You can sign your name here

STA, 2 February 2021 - The NGO Inštitut 8. Marec filed an initiative in parliament on Tuesday to collect 5,000 signatures in support of its legislative proposal redefining the crimes of rape and sexual violence. The NGO proposes such crimes be treated in line with the consent principle "yes means yes".

A petition for redefining rape and sexual violence had been filed in January 2019. The then Justice Minister Andreja Katič promised changes in this respect, but neither the previous not the current government have proposed any systemic changes, Mojca Lukan from Inštitut 8. Marec told the press today.

"Because those in power are thus sending the message to victims of sexual violence that it was their own fault, we've decided to draw up a proposal ourselves," Lukan said.

The head of the NGO, Nika Kovač, said they had opted for the harder way because they did not want anyone to score political points.

"We heard voices yesterday bravely sharing their experiences, now is the time for us to form a movement together, to say 'it's enough' and change the legislation," she said, adding this was the only way to have fewer victims and to help victims speak up.

Currently, the law says sexual crimes must involve the use of force, which forces the victims to resist actively, thus risking even greater violence, Kristina Krajnc from the NGO said.

This means the perpetrators are often found not guilty if the victim is asleep, unconscious or numb. Such was a case processed by a court in Koper where a man accused of rape was acquitted because the victim was asleep when the rape started.

This is why the NGO proposes the principle "yes means yes", which has been adopted by many European countries.

The NGO said many victims of sexual violence at university institutions had turned to them. "This is something that is happening in all institutions with hierarchic relations," Kovač said.

She also pointed to a series of accusations of sexual harassment on Slovenske Železnice trains, saying "absolutely nothing has been done yet".

After receiving an initiative for legislative changes, the parliamentary speaker has seven days to inform the ministry in charge of the voting rights register and to set the deadline for the 60-day collecting of signatures.

If all the conditions are met, the motion enters the legislative process and the National Assembly processes it like any other bill.

The Justice Ministry welcomed the initiative but indicated it would press ahead with a previously proposed model known as "no means no", which NGOs including Inštitut 8. Marec do not consider as going far enough.

The ministry said far-reaching changes to the criminal code were being drawn up concerning consent in crimes against inviolability of sexual integrity.

It said "no means no" had been recognized by an expert group as the most sustainable model in that it will give law enforcement an effective prosecution tool while providing legal certainty to all those involved in a criminal procedure.

STA, 25 November 2020 - Ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, observed on Wednesday, Slovenia called for ending violence against women. Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina said that raising awareness about such efforts is key, noting that Covid-19 has led to a rise in domestic violence.

Between 16 March and 31 May, there was an 11% increase in domestic violence cases, police data show, with NGOs reporting a rise in the number of helpline calls during the spring lockdown.

The ombudsman believes that support services for victims of violence should be a priority, including access to safe houses and crisis centres.

Svetina's office has found that such facilities have remained open and accessible to victims, however they were under-staffed and had insufficient room capacities to enable self-isolation or quarantine if needed.

The ombudsman has thus urged the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities to provide such support facilities with everything they require.

Women and girls should be empowered and men and boys educated in order to stem violence against women and girls, he said.

What is also key is supporting victims in relevant procedures, staff training and giving a clear signal that violence is unacceptable, Svetina said.

He warned that the definition of rape in the penal code should be updated, based on lack of consent, and the redefining should indicate that sexual acts are not allowed if they are not consensual for all the participants.

President Borut Pahor also issued a statement on the occasion, saying violence against women was unfortunately still widely present and affected children as indirect or direct victims as well.

Noting that the lockdown had definitely further deteriorated the situation, Pahor urged people to speak out about the violence. Silence about violence is not golden, the president argued.

He urged zero tolerance against any forms of violence, "including verbal and psychological violence, as such violence is used by perpetrators to subjugate those who are weaker and trap them into a circle that is hard to escape, especially in times of crisis".

The ZSSS trade union meanwhile warned that workplace violence was also a burgeoning issue of concern during the epidemic, particularly among essential workers, such as health workers, care home staff, cleaners and those working in shops - occupations where women account for the majority of staff.

The organisation thus urges the ministry and the government to immediately launch a procedure to ratify the 2019 Violence and Harassment Convention by the International Labour Organisation, a document which aims to eliminate workplace violence.

The union of medical associations of nurses, midwives and medical technicians notes that the epidemic has rolled back the decades-long fight against domestic violence and workplace violence.

The organisation has called on relevant authorities to step up their efforts to protect the rights of children, the elderly, women and other vulnerable groups.

A nationwide study has shown that one in two women has experienced at least one type of violence since turning 15, the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) has pointed out.

Domestic violence is present in one in five families. One in seven women has been raped and only 5% of women who have experienced violence against them seek any kind of help, the NIJZ quoted findings by NGOs.

Organisations providing support meanwhile highlight that help is available during the epidemic as well, urging Slovenians to report any kind of violence.

STA, 3 November 2020 - Slovenia places 11th in the European Union in the latest Gender Equality Index, the same rank it had in 2019. With a score of 67.9 points out of 100, slightly lower than last year, it is just below the EU average.

The index, compiled by the European Institute for Gender Equality, measures countries' performance across six core domains - work, money, knowledge, time, power and health.

Slovenia's scores are highest in the domains of health (86.9 points) and money (83 points). Its highest ranking is in the domain of time, where it ranks 7th.

Gender inequalities are most pronounced in power (55 points) and knowledge (55.9 points). In these domains, Slovenia ranks 12th and 21st in the EU, respectively.

As the Ministry of Labour, the Family, Social Affairs and Equal opportunities pointed out on Tuesday, compared to last year Slovenia made headway only in the segment money, where average net incomes increased for both men and women, while the at-risk-of-poverty rate for women decreased by 0.4 percentage points.

In the two indicators that measure work - labour market participation and the segregation and quality of work - Slovenia achieved 0.2 points less than the year before due to increased segregation in employment, according to the ministry.

The institute also highlights gender segregation in education. Just over 41% of women study education, health and welfare, humanities and arts, whereas the share of men in these study programmes is 16.8%.

The ministry notes, however, that Slovenia's figures are not significantly different than the EU average.

In the domain power Slovenia reached 2.6 points less than last year as a result of fewer female members of the government, MPs and local councillors. The share of women on the boards of listed companies and the board of the central bank decreased as well.

In health, Slovenia slipped by 0.2 points. According to the ministry, men's self-perceived health is higher than women's, even though life expectancy for women is on average six years higher than for men. Differences in access to health services are minimal.

This year's thematic focus was on digitalisation. The data for Slovenia shows there is significant segregation in the education and labour market with men accounting for over 80% of all ICT graduates and over 70% of scientists and engineers in high-technology sectors.

Slovenia will dedicate special attention to this issue during its stint as the presiding EU country, the ministry said, adding that a responsive labour market is a key priority.

Digital skills are becoming an increasingly important part of the active employment policy and projects such as informal education and on-the-job training, which typically involve a higher share of women, have put new digital knowledge at the forefront, the ministry said.

You can find the full report for Slovenia here

STA, 26 October 2020 - The Stigma safe house for women users of illicit drugs marked its 10th anniversary this year. Neva Faninger and Sabina Zorec, social workers working at the house, have told the STA that the facility is a shelter for women who have fallen through the cracks in the social system.

The safe house was set up by the Ljubljana-based Stigma association, which aims to mitigate damage done by drug use. The shelter strives to be something similar to a home where women can put life on the street behind them.

It is one of the few such facilities in the world, and the only one in Slovenia, that does not expect its residents to be completely drug-free when they enter the programme.

The organisation however endeavours to keep the house as drug-free as possible. In the facility and its surrounding area drug use is banned, said Zorec and Faninger. Any illicit drugs brought to the house have to be put away and placed in special lockers.

The association came up with the idea for the shelter having seen how many women who were caught in a vicious circle of drug use and violence had nowhere safe to go, most notably released women prisoners. Their families were often a source of problems and did not provide a safe space.

Stigma stepped in and has since housed women with various stories, including those who do not have a drug problem but have ended up in a situation where the house was their only option.

"The system is rigid, everyone has their own fief and wants specific users, whereas people are complex," said Zorec, calling for a more flexible approach that would acknowledge people's different stories and needs.

"Recently, we admitted a girl who just turned 18. The moment she came of age, she arrived at the house from a youth crisis centre. She does not have an acute drug problem, but her only options were the safe house or the streets," said Zorec, noting that the shelter does not admit minors.

The average age of the residents is 37. Aside from drug use, homelessness and experiences of street or domestic violence, one thing they usually have in common is trauma. They were often either victims of child abuse or sexual abuse later in life. Lack of education and mental disorders are also frequent characteristics of the residents.

"A behavioural disorder label is considered a consequence of drug use, although it is often the other way around," said Zorec.

"They make up for that as much as they want and can in the house," said Faninger, adding that education is the best way out of the vicious circle, even though for many it is also the most difficult path. Residing in the house can be a stepping stone for shelter programmes that require complete abstinence though.

Women may stay at the house for a year and a half with the possibility of extension. Since 2016 the organisation also has two support flats of the Ljubljana housing fund at its disposal for residents who have achieved a certain level of stability.

Zorec and Faninger have noted certain changes during the past ten years; there are more young residents who are barely adults and new psychoactive substances have emerged. Ten years ago, heroin was the drug of choice, now anything that is available counts as long as it serves the purpose of escaping reality.

"Drugs are a way of survival for them, they mitigate struggles that usually stem from childhood," said Faninger.

The facility can admit up to eight women, however the number has recently been reduced to seven since one room has been turned into a potential quarantine space in the event one of the residents is infected with the coronavirus.

Due to the shelter's high hygienic standards, there has been little need to additionally ramp up disinfection efforts since the outbreak, said Faninger.

The safe house hosts workshops and endeavours to get its residents involved in volunteering or to find them work. The staff accompanies and supports them during doctor visits, court hearings or when maintaining contact with their children.

Seven persons are employed at the 24-hour shelter, including three men, which has turned out to be a positive feature. Women can thus see that not all men are perpetrators of violence. The staff members are of different educational backgrounds, ranging from social workers and graduates in comparative literature to engineers.

Discrimination and a social stigma are common features experienced by the residents. Even the staff are often a target of discrimination, especially when they accompany or assist the women in the outside world, said Faninger, adding that prejudices are present among experts as well.

Marking the 10th anniversary, the organisation decided to release a publication by the residents to present the project and show that there are positive aspects, opportunities to change for the better.

You can learn more about Stigma at the group’s website

STA, 22 September 2020 - The City of Women (Mesto Žensk) international festival of contemporary arts will begin in Ljubljana on Tuesday, running this year in a stretched out format until 12 October. It will feature over 80 women artists, lecturers, curators and activists.

Addressing the press at the outset of the festival, artistic director Teja Reba raised the question of whether talking about gender equality is suitable in a time when the world is facing a pandemic, climate change, growing wealth disparity, unbridled nationalism and bodies in the Mediterranean.

"Yes, more then ever before," Reba asserted, urging everybody "not to stay silent" and join the festival's efforts.

The City of Women 2020 is opening with the launch of an exhibition named The Unforgettable. It features posters around the city of 50 Slovenian Women Who Pushed the Boundaries of Our World.

The exhibition is named after a book that was published on the occasion and will also be discussed at a symposium called 8 Mach Every day and scheduled on 1 October. The focus will be on securing equal opportunities for young people during education and later on in life.

The opening day will moreover be marked by the first screening in a segment dedicated to actress Delphine Seyrig. One programme section is named Disobedient Muses and will look at the video production of the eponymous collective that Seyrig was a part of.

Gender Equality - A Means to Succeeding in Achieving the Seventeen UNESCO Sustainable Development Goals is the title of an international conference that is scheduled for Friday, while the ŠKUC Gallery will feature from 8 October a group exhibition presenting the exploration of the historical and social aspects of cosmetics as a material culture.

Also on the programme is an exploration of the relations between oppressors, systems of persecution and precarity led by the Dublin-based artists Bernie O'Reilly and Maud Hendricks in cooperation with six women based in Slovenia. Inspired by Samuel Beckett's Catastrophe, it is scheduled for 30 September at the Old Powerhouse.

This far from exhausts the list of events, although the performance segment is scaled down this year due to coronavirus restrictions. Two premieres are scheduled nonetheless - Picture Perfect by Simona Semenič and the final part of Nataša Živkovič's trilogy Dodgeball.

From the festival's Insagram

Meanwhile, cooperating with the 8th March Institute, this year's City of Women will also feature the #METOO IN CULTURE campaign, which aims to highlight sexual harassment in the culture sector.

You can see the full programme of events on the official City or Women 2020 website, and also follow on Facebook