A 24 April 2000 Chicago Daily Herald article states:

"We don't have a legislative and judiciary process like you do in America to protect women and children from their abusers," she [Maria Slamkova, who runs a not-for-profit center for abused women and children in Nitra, Slovakia] said. "Our people don't really know where to go for help, even if they know they are being treated wrongly. And we don't have programs to help abusers learn new ways at all."..."There's always money problems," said Slamkova, who noted that the shelter she runs has been open for about a year and already has served 57 children and 20 women. "With money to support only seven beds, we can't do as much of what needs to be done. To make more beds and expand programs, we have to have funding," she said.

Additional or corroborating information on the protection available to women who are victims of domestic violence in Slovakia could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

LEXIS/NEXIS

Women's International News

Internet sites including:

Amnesty International

Central Eastern European Law Initiative

Hokaidu University Slavic Centre

Human Rights Watch

International Commission of Jurists

Network of East/West Women

Slovakia Today on Central Europe Online

Women Law and Development International

World News Connection