| SO | Sexual orientation |
|---|---|
| GI/E | Gender identity/expression |
| SC | Variations of sex characteristics |
| GR1 | Legal gender recognition without self-determination |
| GR2 | Legal gender recognition with self-determination (over 16) |
| GR3 | Legal gender recognition with self-determination (under 16) |
| FPN | LGBTI focal points network |
| CA | Ministerial call to action |
The Constitution of Slovenia prohibits any discrimination on the basis of nationality, race, gender and other criteria, which include a general criterion referring to “any other personal circumstance”. The Protection Against Discrimination Act (2016) sets sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression (amongst other criteria including a general criterion referring to “any other personal circumstance”) as grounds for protection against discrimination in various areas of social life, including, within education. Furthermore, the Organization and Financing of Education Act (1996, Art. 2) mentions among the objectives of education mutual tolerance, awareness of gender equality, respect for diversity and cooperation with others, respect for children’s rights, human rights and fundamental freedoms, and fostering equal opportunities for “both genders”, thereby developing the ability to live in a democratic society.
There are no national policies or action plans to tackle homophobic, biphobic, transphobic or interphobic bullying or promote LGBTQI inclusion. However, in their public statements, various government ministries refer to the importance of international texts and campaigns to protect LGBTQI persons. The Ministry responsible for education has prepared the Guidelines For Analysing, Preventing And Dealing With Violence In Schools for analysing, preventing and dealing with violence in schools.
Civil society organisations report that national curricula in Slovenia contains very few references to LGBTQI people or issues. In the past years, there were several workshops on sexual orientation organised in some schools in Slovenia.
There is currently no mandatory teacher training on LGBTQI awareness. Students training to be teachers, however, have an opportunity to select an elective course on gay and lesbian studies at the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. The faculty of pedagogy (University of Ljubljana) also includes topics on LGBT identities in their courses, although there is no specific course solely focusing on LGBTQI issues.
According to the Rules on the Implementation of the Law of the Central Register (2015, Art. 37) sex change shall be entered on the basis of the decision of the competent authority. The decision must be confirmed by a competent institution or doctor, but there are no clear criteria of what must be included. Minors must provide consent from their parents or guardians. Once the register has been adapted, the rules provide that the person is entitled to receive an extract from the public registry without any mention of the fact that their gender had been changed.
There is no evidence of systematic national data collected by the government on homophobic, biphobic, transphobic or interphobic bullying. However, the Inspectorate for Education and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia has collected specific information on violence in schools. The annual report of the inspectorate for 2016 states that a report entitled Practice of protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (Praksa varstva pred diskriminacijo zaradi spolne usmerjenosti in spolne identitete) has been prepared. This report is still not public.
For its part, the Advocate of the Principle of Equality (the national equality body) deals with and collects data on cases of discrimination (including bullying and harassment) based on sexual orientation and gender identity also in the area of education, but there are no public reports that segregate data on grounds of discrimination and specifically include homophobic, biphobic, transphobic or interphobic bullying.
Although LGBTQI learners who have experienced bullying can access school counselling services (there is a psychologist and social worker in every school), civil society organisations stress that their ability to deal with LGBTQI issues can vary greatly. Young people who have experienced homophobic, biphobic or transphobic bullying may also turn to a child support hotline (TOM), but again this is not LGBTQI specific. Civil society organisations, such as Legebitra, however, provide services for LGBTQI young people such as cafe nights and social gatherings.
There is no specific information for LGBTQI learners or guidance for the education sector on how to address bullying and harassment against LGBTQI students. There are a number of guidelines and information materials on school bullying and how to tackle it (by Police, NGOs and the Ministry of Education). These guidelines handle the issue of diversity, but do not refer specifically to LGBTQI issues (or any other personal circumstance).
The government supports civil society organisations to work on LGBTQI rights and inclusion by providing funding for different programs and activities, including education (i.e. workshops in schools). Civil society organisations, however, report that gaining access to schools remains a challenge, with many schools still prohibiting such interventions.
– Slovenia has signed the Call for Action by Ministers – Inclusive and equitable education for all learners in an environment free from discrimination and violence.
– Slovenia is member of the European Governmental LGBTI Focal Points Network.
There is a very strong “anti-gender movement” in Slovenia which is constantly attacking the work carried out by LGBTQI organisations in the field of education.
