The most significant human rights problem was the treatment of the thousands of migrants and asylum seekers who transited Slovenia en route to Austria and Germany since September. Their sheer numbers initially challenged the country's capacity to process cases and provide immediate services. The country's Romani population suffered societal discrimination and occasional harassment that aggravated their harsh living conditions, sustained their high unemployment rate, and led to social isolation. Judicial and administrative backlogs and inefficiency resulted in trial delays, although there were signs of improvement.Other problems reported during the year included prison overcrowding; delays in resolving cases of property restitution; self-censorship of the press and the threat and use of defamation suits against journalists, which stifled media criticism of officials and politicians; government corruption; violence against women and children; trafficking in men, women, and girls, including forced labor; discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons; ineffective sanctions for violations of workers' rights; child labor; and ineffective enforcement of fair labor standards.The government took steps to investigate, prosecute, and punish officials who committed abuses, whether in the security services or elsewhere in the government.
