Slovenia

Overview

Slovenia decriminalised same-sex relationships in 1977, and since its independence from the Yugoslav Federation in 1991, it has introduced a number of provisions to safeguard LGBTQ rights. Though in some places it is still fighting discrimination, its membership in the EU has had a very positive impact on LGBTQ rights. Ljubljana, the capital city held its first Gay Pride parade in 2001. In February 2016 Parliament voted for recognition of same-sex marriage. Gay and Lesbian couples are also allowed to adopt children.  Ljubljana is a member of the Rainbow City Networks. In our guide, you will find several publications completed in collaboration with this network.

• History of Gay and Lesbian Movement in Slovenia in Slovenian Queer Resources Directory [in English].
• An overview of rights and legal acts by ILGA Europe [in English].
• Country ranking by ILGA Europe [in English].

Academic research

The Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences does not have a dedicated department to Queer Studies but the LGBTQ topics are researched at different faculties:

• Faculty of Social Science, University of Ljubljana.
• Gender Studies, University of Ljubljana.
• Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana.
• The Peace Institute – Institute for Contemporary Social and Political Studies is a private, independent, non-profit research institution founded in 1991. It develops interdisciplinary research, educational and awareness-raising activities in the areas of social science, humanities, anthropology and law, in five thematic fields: human rights and minorities, politics, media, gender and cultural policies.

​Resources

Books

• Ayoub, P. (2016). When states come out: Europe's sexual minorities and the politics of visibility. (Cambridge studies in contentious politics). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Bilić, B. (2016). LGBT activism and Europeanisation in the post-Yugoslav space: On the rainbow way to Europe. (Palgrave studies in European political sociology). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Kuhar, R., Kogovšek Šalamon, N., Humer, Ž., Maljevac, S. (2011). Obrazi homofobije. Ljubljana: Mirovni inštitut.
• Kuhar, R., Takács, J., Magyar Tudományos Akadémia. Szociológiai Kutató Intézet, Mirovni inštitut, & Magyar Tudományos Akadémia. Szociológiai Kutatócsoport. (2007). Beyond the pink curtain : Everyday life of LGBT people in Eastern Europe. Ljubljana: Peace Institute.
• Šori, I., Kuhar, R. (2017). Campaigning for equality: the frames of homophobia in Slovenia. Ljubljana: Ljubljana University Press. Full text is available on issuu.
• Švab, A., Kuhar, R. (2005). The unbearable comfort of privacy: the everyday life of gays and lesbians. Ljubljana: Peace Institute. 

Periodicals

• Lesbo - political, social and cultural review, successor of the fanzine Lesbozine [in Slovene].
• Narobe - queer magazine. Narobe archive 2007 - 2016 [in Slovene]. 
• Revolver - Roza klub's magazine for cultural and political issues.  Revolver archive 1990-1996 [in Slovene].
• Sodobna pedagogika - special issue on Homosexuality and School [in English]. ​

Repositories

• COBISS - one-stop access to Slovene libraries. Databases contain bibliographic records for different types of library resources: monographs, serials, articles and other materials, including researchers' bibliographies [in Slovene, English].
• Digital Library of Slovenia - provides access to a wide range of digital contents including scholarly publications and journal articles in fields of science, art and culture [in Slovene, English].
• Izbrana bibliografija literature z lezbično in gejevsko tematiko - online bibliography of gay and lesbian literature [in Slovene]. 
• Slovenian Queer Resources Directory - contains a number of resources such as web pages of LGBT organisations, projects, film festivals, blogs and web pages [in Slovene].

Data and statistics

• European LGBT Survey, 2014. FRA Europe [in English].  
• Slovenia hate crime data by OSCE ODIHR [in English].
• State-Sponsored Homophobia report: latest edition, includes maps and dataset, ILGA Europe - a world survey of sexual orientation laws + older editions [in English].

Reports

• Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex People. ILGA Europe, available from 2011 onwards [in English].
• ECRI - Country monitoring in Slovenia. Reports, 1997 - 2019 [in English].
• Legal study on homophobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. February 2008 – March 2010, Commissioned by FRA Europe [in English].
• Life on the Margins: Survey Results of the Experiences of LGBTI People in Southeastern Europe. World Bank Group, September 2018 [in English].
• Media Representation of Homosexuality. An Analysis of the Print Media in Slovenia, 1970 – 2000. The Peace Institute – Institute for Contemporary Social and Political Studies [in English].
• Meeting the challenge of accession Surveys on sexual orientation discrimination in countries joining the European Union. ILGA Europe Policy Paper, April 2004 [in English]. 
• Rainbow Europe - ILGA-Europe’s annual benchmarking tool, which ranks 49 countries in Europe on their LGBTI equality laws and policies. Available from 2009 onwards [in English].
• The social situation concerning homophobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation in Slovenia. The Danish Institute for Human Rights, COWI, March 2009. Commissioned by FRA Europe [in English].

Organisations

• DIH - an NGO working towards a better understanding, visibility, awareness and representation of LGBTQIA+ people and topics in order to fight discrimination and achieve equality and inclusion of LGBTQIA+ persons [in Slovene, English]. 
• Društvo Parada Ponosa - The Pride Parade Association was founded in 2009 by the members of Slovenian LGBTIQ+ NGOs, as a result of the increasing scope of the Pride Parade in Ljubljana. Since its founding, the Association has organized 10 annual Pride Parades and accompanying cultural and political festivals [in Slovene, English]. 
• ERA – LGBTI Equal Rights Association for Western Balkans and Turkey is a Regional Association of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer organizations from Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey. [in English].
• Institute Transfeminist - Transfeminist Initiative TransAkcija Insitute enables support, informing, empowerment and alliance of transgender and gender non-conforming persons in Slovenia, and is the first and only non-governmental organization devoted to human rights of transgender persons the country [in Slovene, English].  
• Legebitra - an NGO working in areas of social welfare, health, youth and awareness-raising [in Slovene, English]. 

Other resources

• ERA - Online Resource Centre [in English].
• Ljubljana LGBT Film Festival [in English].