Today, 15 October 2024, Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina met with representatives of the Museum of Madness in Trate, Dr. Sonjo Bezjak and Dr. Andreja Rafaelič. They presented to him the operation and activities of the Museum of Madness, especially their efforts to ensure suitable conditions for people with long-term disabilities to live in the community. They pointed out that today more than 4,000 people in Slovenia still live in so-called total institutions. In this regard, they presented to the Ombudsman the campaign What is a Madhouse?, within the framework of which they carry out numerous awareness campaigns. They address stereotypes about mental health, and they especially try to contribute to eliminating stereotypes about people who are placed in institutions. They are also collecting signatures for a petition urging decision-makers that it is high time to close special institutions and organise services in the community

In the conversation, the Ombudsman expressed deep concern about the slow, flawed, and inefficient progress of the deinstitutionalisation process in Slovenia and recalled that a consultation on this was held recently in Nova Gorica. At the same time, he emphasised that every person has the right to live in their home environment, whereby support must be based on individual needs and promote the full inclusion of all individuals in the community. He welcomed the efforts and activities of the Museum of Madness and emphasised that he himself reminded the decision-makers of this again in the Annual Report of the Ombudsman for 2023, where, among other things, he warned that in Slovenia we still do not have enough alternatives to institutional protection, despite the fact that the state has been talking about the importance of deinstitutionalisation for many years. "The existing alternatives do not meet people's needs, which is unacceptable," he said in the interview.