Slovenia's Pride Month: growing support, and growing pushback

One of the first moves of Slovenia's new right-wing government in June was to remove the rainbow flag from outside the Ministry of Culture. As Pride Month draws to a close, the community is asking what comes next.

Pride Month, from 1 to 30 June, carries even more weight if you spend the rest of the year feeling invisible. And many members of the LGBTQ+ community in Slovenia know very well what that means.

In the colourful capital, Ljubljana, there is not a single city district — not even a single street — that could genuinely be called gay-friendly. The same goes for the country's other, smaller cities.

“When it comes to physical spaces that are explicitly welcoming to the LGBT community, there aren't many,” says Barbara Rajgelj, a lawyer and co-owner of a bar in central Ljubljana that hosts community events.

Rajgelj is worried that the intolerance encouraged by political leaders is gaining ground in Slovenia. “Safe spaces will matter more and more, because the violence comes from the top down: from parliament, through digital media, all the way to public space,” she says.

In previous years, Pride Month and the many events organised around it have been some of those safe places. At the same time, it is a yearly reminder that, despite the lack of physical infrastructure, Slovenia has a lively and active LGBTQ+ community.

Source: Danas. English adaptation: gay-serbia.com.