Today, 27 November 2025, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) today published a comprehensive report on violence against people with disabilities in institutional care settings in the EU, revealing widespread forms of violence, long-standing systemic shortcomings, and a culture of silence that makes it difficult for people with disabilities to report abuse. The report is based on fieldwork in 27 EU countries, and also includes data from Slovenia, collected through interviews with people with disabilities, staff in institutions, centres for social work, and independent bodies, among which the Ombudsman plays a central role.

The Ombudsman has provided its experience and findings as a national human rights institution and as part of independent monitoring mechanisms for the purposes of preparing the report. Upon the release of the report, the Ombudsman emphasises that the FRA's findings confirm long-known problems that it draws attention to in its regular annual reports, either itself or as a national preventive mechanism (NPM), which independently monitors places of deprivation of liberty in order to prevent torture, abuse, and inhuman treatment in a timely manner.

The NPM notes, among other things, the absence of protocols for the prevention of violence, overcrowding of secure wards in social welfare and wards under special supervision in psychiatric institutions, inadequate documentation of special protective measures, unlawful restrictions on movement, and poor information to users about their rights. The Ombudsman also initiated a review of the constitutionality of legal provisions regarding involuntary placement of persons with legal capacity, and the Constitutional Court upheld his decision. The Ombudsman stresses that the situation in institutions indicates the urgent need to accelerate the deinstitutionalisation process, strengthen independent supervision, ensure a safe path for reporting violence, and enable people with disabilities to live in dignity, safety, and equality.

The FRA report for Slovenia, among other things, emphasises that the country does not yet have a comprehensive legislative framework that would systematically regulate the prevention of violence against persons with disabilities in institutions. The legislation is fragmented, and protective mechanisms differ between sectors, which leads to inconsistent treatment of violence and unclear channels for reporting abuse. Monitoring mechanisms often do not reveal the real situation, as institutions conceal irregularities during unannounced visits, and victims do not speak out about violence due to fear of retaliation or distrust in the system. The police and prosecutor's office do not have special procedures for dealing with violence against persons with disabilities in institutions, special statistics are not kept, and most institutions report zero or only individual cases each year, which indicates the formal presence of mechanisms, but very low awareness or ineffectiveness of reporting channels.

report also reveals a wide range of inadequate practices, which are also identified by the Ombudsman and the NPM: long-term immobilisation of minors in psychiatric settings, illegal restriction of movement in nursing homes, incorrect use of protective measures, improper obtaining of consent for secure wards, and de facto existing 'secure' units without a court order in training, work and care centres and care and work centres. There are also chronic spatial and personnel problems, and cases of violence often come to attention through the media, rather than through the established protection system.

The FRA calls on all 27 member states to make urgent systemic changes: accelerated deinstitutionalisation and community transition, ensuring a coherent and effective legal framework, strengthening legal protection, collecting reliable data, improving independent oversight, establishing secure reporting mechanisms, mandatory multidisciplinary training, and involving people with disabilities and their organisations in policy-making.