Možnosť voľby // Freedom of Choice (About Us)
The civic association Možnosť voľby (Freedom of Choice) was founded in 2001 as a broad initiative of organizations and individuals aimed at preserving standards of sexual and reproductive rights and health in Slovakia. Over time, our work has increasingly focused on the topic of gender-based violence, the use of a gender perspective in public policy, and gender training. To date, we have carried out more than 40 successful projects in these areas.
Since our founding, we have worked systematically to improve the protection of women’s reproductive rights and health in Slovakia.
💜 In 2023, we launched a support line to make access to safe abortion easier.
Besides reproductive health, we are also active in other areas:
✅ we work on preventing gender-based violence and on incorporating a gender perspective into public policy;
✅ we respond to political decisions with discriminatory consequences and put forward proposals for change;
✅ we comment on legislative materials, organize mass reminders and public protests, conduct research, monitor the situation, and inform the public and international communities about it;
✅ we maintain a dialogue with state and civic institutions and politicians, and work within executive bodies. Members of Možnosť voľby actively participate in meetings of the Government Council of the Slovak Republic for Human Rights, National Minorities, and Gender Equality;
✅ to strengthen people’s engagement in protecting human rights and to improve their gender and civic competencies, we carry out educational activities and informational gender training. Možnosť voľby is the organization with the most experience in delivering gender education for adults in Slovakia, and with the broadest portfolio of educational programs (gender training specializing in advocacy, sexual and reproductive rights, gender-based violence, CEDAW, the Istanbul Convention, and other topics). Our graduates come from a wide range of population groups: helping professions, non-governmental organizations, the teaching community, journalists, students, politicians, people working in PR, and state and civic institutions, among others. For people who have completed our training, we have created an “Alumni” program, through which we continue to develop cooperation and provide mutual support in work on gender equality and sexual and reproductive rights.
📑 In our work, we rely firmly on international human rights conventions and promote solutions aimed at achieving gender equality and protecting human rights as key social values. It is the dream and goal of our members that Slovakia be a fair and caring country where all people can live with dignity.
Monitoring the Situation and Supporting Women in Overcoming Obstacles:
In 2021, we conducted our first comprehensive study on access to abortion and contraceptives in Slovakia, the results of which became an important source for our advocacy work and a clear understanding of the need for change.
Inadequate access to reproductive and sexual health care, and the number of obstacles that mainly women face in this area, prompted us to provide concrete, practical support. Since 2023, we have run a support line to make access to safe abortion easier. Our support is based on the principles of respect, trust, and empowering people to make their own decisions and take their own actions.
Our Mission
Advocacy
We believe that political processes can be changed. Therefore, we draw attention to the discriminatory consequences of political decisions and propose changes. We comment on laws and strategic documents, negotiate with politicians, organize mass comments and public protests, monitor the situation, and inform the public and international organizations about it.
Education
We are an organization with the most experience in implementing gender education for adults in Slovakia, as well as the broadest portfolio of educational programs. Since 2005, we have provided dozens of comprehensive training courses, workshops, and summer schools on human rights focused on building gender capacity.
Campaigns
For over 25 years, we have been striving to improve gender equality in Slovakia through our campaigns. The campaign “Let’s be a caring country, it’s about women’s health and lives” focused on improving access to abortion in Slovakia. The campaign “Let’s put an end to violence against women” drew attention to the need to ratify the Istanbul Convention.
Our Work in Practice:
In 2001, we co-organized our first campaign on gender-based violence, “The Fifth Woman” (“Piata žena”), which opened up this topic to the public. Since 2014, we have run three nationwide campaigns supporting the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. The campaign “Stop Violence Against Women – Support the Istanbul Convention” (“Odzvoňme násiliu na ženách – Podporme Istanbulský dohovor”) reached more than 3 million people.
Due to the growing intensity of attacks on reproductive rights in Slovakia, we carry out advocacy work aimed at supporting sexual and reproductive rights and strengthening the human-rights framework of the public debate on safe abortion.
In 2022, we ran the campaign “Let’s Be a Caring Country – Women’s Health and Lives Are at Stake” (“Buďme starostlivou krajinou, ide o zdravie a životy žien”), through which we raised awareness of the obstacles faced by people who need an abortion.
Among other things, we continually work to raise public awareness through public discourse on reproductive rights, in cooperation with major Slovak media outlets.
Cooperation:
Možnosť voľby considers cooperation a key factor in successfully defending sexual and reproductive rights and gender equality. That is why we actively support civic engagement and the building of networks among human rights, feminist, and women’s organizations. Over more than 25 years of work, we have built many partnerships. We are members of most domestic networks and part of several international networks, such as the ASTRA Network.
In 2018, we became one of the founding organizations of the important feminist initiative “We Will Not Be Silent!” (Nebudeme ticho!), which actively advocates for reproductive justice. The initiative has successfully opposed nearly 30 restrictive legislative proposals aimed at limiting or banning access to safe and legal abortion in Slovakia.
If you or your organization are interested in cooperating, please contact us at adriana@moznostvolby.sk or kristina@moznostvolby.sk.
ASTRA Newsletter: Every female MP in Slovakia has experienced at least two forms of violence
The ASTRA Network Bulletin, of which we are a part, provides an overview of the current situation, achievements, and challenges in the field of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Central and Eastern [...]
Comparative report: Findings on gender-based violence experienced by women parliamentarians
This report is part of the international project 3R: Recognize, Resist, Rise Up: Tackling Gender-Based Violence against Women in Politics, which is being implemented by a consortium of five European organizations: Women for Election Ireland [...]
Women Members of Parliament in Slovakia and Gender-Based Violence: A Democracy with a Male Face?
This report is part of the international project 3R: Recognize, Resist, Rise Up: Tackling Gender-Based Violence against Women in Politics, implemented by a consortium of five European organizations: Women for Election Ireland (IE), EAF Berlin [...]
We are committed to ensuring that all women have real choices and can live their lives in freedom, dignity and security. Help us make reproductive justice, human rights and equality not just platitudes, but realities.
