BASIC
COUNTRY INFORMATION
Government
type: republic
Constitution: 25 April 1976, revised 1982, 1989, 1992,
1997
Population:1999 estimate: 10 million
Ethnicities:99% Mediterranean, 1% black African
Religion: 97% Roman Catholic, 2% Protestant,
1% other
GDP,
1999: US$108.0 billion
GDP,
annual growth rate: 3.1%
GDP
per capita, 1999: US$10, 901
Major
industries: textiles, clothing, footwear, wood and
cork, paper, chemicals.
Services:
commerce,
government, housing, banking and finance
Employment
(4.7 million):
56% government and services, 32% industry, and 12% agriculture
Unemployment
rate, 1999: 4.1%
Annual
population growth rate, 1999:
0.0%
Infant
mortality rate, 1999:
6.73 per 1000 live births
*Life expectancy at birth: male: 71 years
female: 79 years
*Maternal
mortality rate: 15 per every 100,000 live births
*Literacy
rate: male: 92%
female: 87%
Sources: The World Factbook, *International
Planned Parenthood Federation
Critical
Issues
Prostitution
and Trafficking (Article 6, page 4)
·
Increasing
trafficking of Portuguese women abroad and foreign women to
Portugal
Women in Public Life (Article
7, page 5)
·
Low
representation in national and international politics
·
Lack
of women in decision making in public life and business
Health (Article 12, page
6)
·
Very
restrictive abortion law, high number of illegal and potentially
unsafe abortions
Domestic Violence (GR 19,
page 8)
·
Despite
the availability of legal measures traditional attitudes prevent
women from reporting violence
Recent
Political Events
Since
its shift from authoritarian regime to provisional military
government to a parliamentary democracy in 1974, Portugal’s
political climate has been dominated alternately by right
and left throughout the 1970s and 1980s. After years of authoritarian
resistance, the new government in 1974-1975 granted independence
to its African colonies, resulting in an influx of about half
a million residents of the former African colonies. In 1999,
Portugal’s remaining overseas territory, Macau, was handed
over to China.
Until
December 2001, the Socialist Party dominated the Portuguese
political scene. Both the Presidency and the Prime Minister’s
office, half the seats in Parliament and a majority of municipalities
were held by Socialists. The heavy losses suffered by the
Socialist Party in the December 2001 nationwide local elections,
however, led to the resignation of Prime Minister Antonio
Manuel de Oliveira Guterres. The center-right Social Democratic
Party won 144 council seats, compared with 98 for the Socialists.
Both parties follow similar policies in support of the free
market and further European Union integration. [1]
Prime
Minister Guterres supported the privatization and modernization
policies of his predecessors and promoted fuller integration
into the European Union (EU). Under Guterres, Portugal has
been active in foreign affairs, for example by participating
in the peacekeeping operation in Bosnia, and later in the
NATO’s operation in Kosovo in 1999 (despite substantial societal
opposition). Portugal also lobbied persistently for the independence
of its former colony, East Timor, and became involved in efforts
to bring stability to the region following the independence
vote and the violence that followed it in 1999. [2]
The
country entered the European Community (EC) in 1986, and in
1999 it became a full member of the European Monetary Union.
Membership in the EC and then in the EU has increased trade
ties and brought structural adjustment funding to Portugal.
A privatization program introduced in late 1980s reduced the
state-owned sector’s share in the economy from 20 percent
in 1989 to 10 percent in 1998. In recent years, Portugal’s
economy has grown at rates above average of the EU members.
Currently, Portugal has one of the lowest unemployment rates
in the EU (at 4.1 percent). However, Portugal’s productivity
still stands at only about 55 percent of the EU average, which
is the lowest among the 15 EU members.
[3] Although the standard of living has improved
considerably, it still stands only at about 70 percent of
the EU average.
Human
Rights
Minorities
Racial
discrimination and xenophobia sometimes lead to attacks against
minorities in Portugal — blacks, Roma, immigrants. According
to the Portuguese government, cases of racism and xenophobia
are largely isolated and they arise “out of movements which
are on the fringes of society and are associated with extreme
ideologies.”
[4] Police response to violent actions by racist
groups has been inconsistent. In 1999, Parliament adopted
a set of antiracism laws based upon the anti-discrimination
sections of the Constitution and the Penal Code. The new
laws prohibit and penalize racial discrimination in housing,
business, and health services. They also provide for the
creation of a new Commission for Equality and Against Racial
Discrimination. [5]
STATUS
OF WOMEN IN PORTUGAL PER CEDAW CONVENTION:
CONVENTION
ARTICLES 1& 2:
DEFINITION
OF DISCRIMINATION &
OBLIGATIONS
TO ELIMINATE DISCRIMINATION
Article
13(2) of the Portuguese Constitution incorporates the principle
of equality. It states that “(n)o one shall be privileged
or favoured, or discriminated against, or deprived of any
right or exempted from any duty, by reason of his or her ancestry,
sex, race, language, territory of origin, religion, political
or ideological convictions, education, economic situation
or social circumstances.”
[6] Article 9 (h) concerning the basic responsibilities
of the State, explicitly charges the State with the duty to
“promote equality between men and women.” [7]
CONVENTION
ARTICLE 5:
SEX
ROLES AND STEREOTYPING
Gender
Stereotypes in the Media
The
fourth government report to CEDAW states that the Portuguese
government started a campaign in 1998 to “promote sensitization
campaigns through the audio-visual media on the importance
of sharing of family responsibilities.” [8] According to a 1998 study of Portuguese
TV advertising, the issue of gender stereotyping in the media
certainly needs to be addressed. The study documented strong
differences in the presentation of male and female characteristics
in the media. For example, the vast majority (91 percent)
of central figures who appeared as voice-overs in the commercials
were male, while women were more likely to be represented
visually. Females were more likely than males to be presented
as product users, while males were depicted as product authorities
(85 percent). [9] Women were more likely
than men to be shown in dependent roles (79 percent), while
men were depicted in independent roles such as that of an
interviewer or a professional. Female characters were more
likely to be portrayed at home and male characters were shown
in occupational settings. Women were more likely to be young
(under 30 years old), and men were more likely to be in the
“middle-aged” category. [10] While men were more likely to offer
factual and opinion arguments, women were more likely to present
no argument at all. More females than males emphasized self-enhancement
as a type of reward, and men were more likely than women to
emphasize pleasure. Women were more frequently associated
with body and food products, while men were more likely to
advertise auto and sports products. In additional, women
were portrayed in a female and mixed ethnic backgrounds and
males were depicted in a male background and no specific ethnic
background. Men were making a final comment much more often
than women. [11]
The
findings of the study have important consequences for the
maintenance of gender stereotypes and the development and
maintenance of gender roles. [12] According to studies in Portugal
and other countries, television is a major source through
which children learn about appropriate gender behaviors and
the desirability of such behaviors. [13] Media such as television have been
shown to help determine aspects of social stereotypes that
often serve to justify and foster differential opportunities
between men and women. [14]
CONVENTION
ARTICLE 6:
TRAFFICKING
IN WOMEN AND PROSTITUTION
Prostitution
Prostitution
is legal in Portugal, but procurement of prostitutes is not.
In Portugal, prostitution is linked to all kinds of organized
crime, and particularly to international drug trafficking.
NGOs have established programs offering economic and social
services to prostitutes. [15] Most existing projects
have targeted prostitutes for prevention of sexually transmitted
diseases (STDs). The Co-ordination of the "Intervention
Project for Prevention of AIDS and other STDs Among Female
Prostitutes: Centro de Aconselhamento DROP-IN” in Lisbon has
been in existence since the early 1990s. Two new projects
were established in 1998 in the North of Portugal: AUTO-ESTIMA
(operating in Matosinhos, Oporto, Braga, Viana do Castelo
and Guimarães) and VAMP (in Oporto). They mainly target street
sex workers and prioritize STD/AIDS prevention, along with
the provision of social services. [16]
Trafficking
in Persons
Under
the Penal Code, trafficking in persons is punishable by 2-8
years’ imprisonment. In 2000, Parliament passed legislation
establishing training programs for service providers to victims
of trafficking. The government Commission for Equality and
Women’s Rights established two working groups, one to oversee
the training of social service workers and another to inform
victims of their legal rights. Both working groups have been
providing services to victims.
Nevertheless,
there are reports that trafficking linked to organized crime
has been increasing, especially in the North of the country.
International trafficking rings smuggle Portuguese women abroad
(the women often come from the more depressed and poorer areas
and sometimes they are drug users). Foreign women—particularly
from Brazil, Lusophone Africa, and from Senegal—are trafficked
into Portugal. According to press reports, several prostitution
trafficking centers exist in northern Portugal, which contract
illegal immigrant women mainly from South America and Eastern
Europe. [17] Russian mafia organizations have
been operating in Portugal and are responsible for the increasing
trafficking of Eastern European women. There are reports
of Moldovan and Ukrainian women who have been sold for an
equivalent of US$4,000 each. Authorities broke one such ring,
organized and led by a nuclear scientist from the former Soviet
Union, in 1999. [18]
In 2000, Portuguese police broke up another prostitution
ring and arrested five Brazilian and three Colombian women,
who were illegal immigrants, and a Portuguese man and woman. [19]
CONVENTION
ARTICLE 7:
POLITICAL
AND PUBLIC LIFE
Article
109 of the Portuguese Constitution states:
“Direct
and active participation of men and women in political life
is a condition and fundamental instrument of the consolidation
of the democratic system. The law must promote equality in
the exercise of civil and political rights and non-discrimination
based on sex in access to political office.” [20]
Despite
some progress, women’s membership in the national Parliament
constitutes only 19.6 percent (2000), and their participation
in the national government stands at 11.7 percent. [21]
CONVENTION
ARTICLE 11:
EMPLOYMENT
In
1990-1991, women constituted 55.5 percent of all college students, [22] and they constitute the majority of
university graduates, but sex discrimination in employment
opportunities and wages continue to have an effect. For instance,
in 1997, women earned an average 77 percent of men’s earnings.
The representation of women in business, science and the professions,
however, is steadily growing. [23]
Portugal
is one of four countries (in addition to Italy, Slovenia and
Sri Lanka), which had the largest increase of women’s participation
in paid employment in industry and services (an increase of
15 percent or more) since the 1980s. Women’s share in these
sectors increased from 30 to 46 percent. [24]
Employment
Discrimination
In
2000, maternity leave was increased from 90 days to 120 days
with full pay and benefits. Either mother of father can take
the leave, and after return to work, the new parent may take
some time off on a daily basis to nurse or feed an infant.
In cases of firing of pregnant or nursing women, or new fathers,
they may file a complaint with the government Commission on
Equality in the Workplace (CITE). The Commission—composed
of government representatives, employers’ organizations and
labor unions—receives many complaints of discrimination by
employers against pregnant workers and new mothers. If CITE
finds that the employee’s legal rights were violated, the
employer is obligated to reinstate the employee and pay double
back salary and benefits for the missed work time. [25] The numbers of complaints and their
resolution were not available for this report.
Sexual
Harassment in the Workplace
The
issue of sexual harassment has been gaining public attention
in Portugal in recent years. It is covered under the Penal
Code as sex crime, but only if it was committed by a superior
and only in the workplace. The law provides for a penalty
of 2-3 years’ imprisonment. [26]
CITE has the power to examine (but not adjudicate)
complaints of sexual harassment, but so far only a few have
been received. Many women are still reluctant to seek legal
protection in such cases, and continued public campaign by
the government is necessary to break such traditional attitudes.
CONVENTION
ARTICLE 12:
HEALTH
Reproductive
Health
Family
planning is included in the 1976 Constitution as a human right.
Legislation requires public promotion of family planning information
and sex education. Family planning services are provided
in health centers free of charge, contraceptives are widely
available, and methods requiring prescription are free. [27] Despite these guarantees and services,
unwanted pregnancy and STD infection remain serious problems.
Adolescent
and Unwanted Pregnancy
Portugal
has the second highest rate of adolescent pregnancies in the
European Union: in 1999, over 7,000 babies were born to adolescent
mothers, of which 104 were under the age of 15. [28] Another
major sexual health issue that affects young women (particularly
ages 18-25) in Portugal is unwanted pregnancy. [29] The Portuguese Family
Planning Association (APF) conducted a project on the issue
of unwanted pregnancy in Oporto, Coimbra, Lisbon, Alentejo,
and Algarve. The study showed that high percentage of young
adults in Portugal do not use effective contraception, there
is a high number of unwanted pregnancies, there is a use of
abortion to terminate them, and high rates of STD infections.
Although
nearly 70 percent of both female and male young people use
some form of contraceptives, still 24.4 percent do not consistently
use any contraceptive. The most commonly used contraceptive
is the condom: 83 percent of males and 65 percent of females
report using it consistently. Twenty-five percent of males
and 63 percent of females reported using the pill. Only 16
percent of the population use a combination of different contraceptives,
such as condom and the pill, simultaneously. The most common
“inefficient” methods were withdrawal (9.5 percent), and the
calendar method (3.2 percent). [30]
Abortion
Prior
to 1984 abortion was forbidden by law, without exception.
At the same time, however, according to APF, abortion was
generally accepted and being performed illegally by doctors,
nurses and midwives. According to APF, the small number of
legal actions taken in such cases is indicative of a level
of tolerance toward the procedure in those times.
In
1984, Parliament legalized abortion in certain strictly specified
cases. First trimester abortion is legal for physical or
mental health reasons (fetal malformation or danger to life
or health of the woman), or in the case of rape. In all other
cases it is against the law (under articles 140-142 of the
Criminal Code). [31] Abortion is punishable by 2 to 8-year
jail sentence if performed without women’s consent and by
an up to 5-year jail sentence if carried out with the woman’s
consent. [32]
Even legal abortion is not fully implemented in
public hospitals because conscientious objectors refuse to
perform the procedures. Annually, only about 100 legal induced
abortions are performed in public hospitals. [33]
Illegal
abortion remains a serious and common problem. About 6.8
percent of young adults have had an unwanted pregnancy and
74.3 percent of them decided to end it. [34]
It is estimated that at least 20,000 and as
many as 40,000 illegal abortions are performed each year. [35] In the last six years, about 9,000
Portuguese women have gone to Spain to have abortion at private
Spanish clinics. [36] Every year, abortion is either the
first or the second cause of maternal death, and more than
5,000 women are admitted to hospital each year with post-abortion
complications. [37] These numbers suggest that the individuals
who decide to terminate their pregnancy have few choices with
regard to the procedure, and they are likely to have abortion
under poor medical conditions and with little emotional support. [38]
Every
year, the police authorities register and investigate crimes
of abortion. There were 49 cases in 1998-1999, which led
to 11 abortion trials with 13 defendants, and 8 convictions. [39] As of the end of 2001, 17 women were
on trial in Maia municipality (near the city of Oporto) in
western Portugal for practicing abortion. The women are accused
of practicing abortion and of being a part of an illegal abortion
network. The trial verdict was expected in early January
2002. [40]
National
public debates on liberalization of the abortion law have
demonstrated significant “pro-choice” support. In February
1998, Parliament approved a proposal for legal abortion on
request up to 10 weeks into pregnancy. In the subsequent
referendum, the proposal narrowly fell: 49 percent voted for
the legalization, and 51 percent voted against it. However,
only 32 percent of the eligible population voted in the referendum. [41] The referendum had
some positive effects as even the groups which were most opposed
to the legalization of abortion, chiefly the Catholic Church
and its allies, agreed to the need for family planning and
sex education. This resulted in a call for full implementation
of sex education in schools. [42] Despite these calls, however, some
sources report that sex education in schools continues to
be practically non-existent and that access to family planning
is inadequate. [43]
Sexually
Transmitted Diseases (STD) Infection
Studies
of sex education and sexual behavior indicate that Portuguese
young men show a higher risk than females in terms of STDs,
including HIV/AIDS. Men are more likely to engage in behaviors
that lead to the contraction of sexually transmitted diseases.
As men are culturally and traditionally expected to initiate
sexual activity and do not typically put a premium on prevention,
their behavior directly affects the health of their sexual
partners. [44] Studies show that
non-urban youths have a higher HIV risk because individuals
living in rural areas have less access to information and
resources relating to sexual and reproductive health than
town and city dwellers. In addition, those who have started
their professional life were more at risk as a result of increased
social contacts and the greater possibility of sexual encounters. [45]
CONVENTION
ARTICLE 13:
SOCIAL
AND ECONOMIC BENEFITS
One-fifth
of the Portuguese population live below the poverty line.
IWRAW does not have information as to what percentage of this
group are women, especially single mothers and elderly women.
Typically these groups are the most vulnerable.
GENERAL
RECOMMENDATION NO.: 19
VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN
Domestic
Violence
Domestic
violence is thought to be widespread in Portugal, but it has
been a largely hidden social problem as relatively few victims
seek help and legal recourse. Traditional social attitudes
and beliefs prevent many battered women from seeking help
through the judicial system. However, in recent years, as
violence has received increased publicity and resources, the
number of reported incidents has grown. The first government-sponsored
national report on family violence was published in March
1999. According to the report, police recorded 2,889 cases
of family violence for the period October 1998-January 1999.
In January 1999 alone, 633 cases of family violence were reported.
More than two-thirds of all these cases involved spouse or
partner and included acts of physical violence. [46]
The
law provides for criminal penalties in cases of violence by
a spouse, and the judicial system has proven to be willing
to prosecute suspects accused of abuse against women. [47] New laws related to
domestic violence, adopted in May 2000, include: the expansion
of the system of shelters for victims; the creation of domestic
violence units in the police; and the creation of a new domestic
violence category in the Attorney General’s report on crime.
The new laws also introduce measures to bar perpetrators from
contact with their victims, and they give the power to the
police to expel the perpetrator from the victim’s dwelling
in extreme cases, when the victim’s life is in danger. The
law calls for the development of preventive programs for past
perpetrators of domestic violence. It also provides for professional
development assistance to victims to enable them to live independent
lives. Moreover, the law allows any interested party to file
charges in domestic violence cases. [48]
A
24-hour 7-day a week toll-free hotline for victims of violence
was established in November 1998. In the first six months,
approximately 60 percent of all calls it received related
to acts of physical violence, while approximately 40 percent
had to do with psychological problems. Sixty-six percent
of the callers were the victims themselves and most of the
calls came from large urban areas, mainly Lisbon and Oporto.
ACTIONS
TAKEN BY OTHER UN HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS PERTAINING TO WOMEN’S
HUMAN RIGHTS:
Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child:
Portugal. 6 November 2001. CRC/C/15/Add.162.
Recommendations:
·
continue
and strengthen its efforts to ensure equal respect for the
right to non-discrimination of all children, giving particular
attention to children and their families living in poverty,
in particular Roma children and children living in less developed
areas.
·
make
it mandatory for professionals to report to an appropriate
body cases of abuse, including sexual abuse, and ensure the
provision of appropriate training and adequate protection
for professionals called upon to make such reports;
·
ensure
the provision of rehabilitation assistance to child victims
of abuse.
·
take
steps to address adolescent health concerns, including teenage
pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, through, inter
alia, sex education, including about birth control measures
such as the use of condoms.
·
continue
to strengthen its HIV/AIDS prevention programmes, including
safe sex education programmes [concern at the incidence of
HIV transmission, including mother-to-child transmission,
and at the high incidence of AIDS (10.4 cases per 100,000)]
·
increase
interventions at primary health-care level aimed at limiting
mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
·
increase
its investment in education; study the causes of high drop-out
and repetition rates; introduce policies to address the causes
of low enrolment in pre-school education; continue its efforts
to increase the number of children completing secondary education;
take steps to reduce drop-out rates and to implement its planned
reform of secondary education; and take steps to raise the
number of persons going on to higher education, giving due
attention to reducing gender disparities [there is a sharp
disparity between males (42 per cent) and females (57 per
cent) as far as going on to tertiary education from secondary
school].
Concluding
observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination: Portugal. 21 March 2001. CERD/C/304/Add.117.
Concerns
and recommendations:
·
some
industrial and services sectors where illegal migrant workers
are engaged, they are discriminated against. It recommends
that the State party take measures to put an end to this discrimination.
·
lack
of detailed information in the report about the effective
enjoyment by ethnic groups, including refugees, foreign workers,
Gypsies (Roma) and citizens who obtained Portuguese nationality
following the independence of former colonies.
·
take
measures to inform the population in general, and the most
vulnerable groups in particular, about the possibility of
bringing complaints before the Commission for Equality and
against Racial Discrimination.
Conclusions
and recommendations of
the Committee against Torture: Portugal. 8 May 2000. A/55/44,paras.96-105.
Recommendations:
·
continue
to undertake in vigorous measures, both disciplinary and educative,
to maintain the momentum moving the police culture in Portugal
to one that respects human rights.
Concluding
observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights Portugal. 1 December 2000. E/C.12/1/Add.53.
Concerns:
·
approximately
one fifth of the population of the State party still lives
below the poverty line and no comprehensive study of the problem
of poverty has been undertaken by the State party.
·
the
occurrence of child labour.
·
cases
of intolerance and discrimination with regard to Roma people,
refugees and immigrants. The Committee also notes with concern
that foreign workers cannot enrol in the vocational guidance
and training courses to which Portuguese workers are entitled.
·
the
persistence of discrimination against women in the fields
of employment and equality of wages and opportunity with men;
the phenomenon of violence against women, including marital
violence.
·
the
increase of trafficking in women that is linked to organized
crime.
·
the
increase in paedophilia and child pornography in association
with the increase in drug trafficking and consumption and
other criminal activities.
·
the
relatively high school drop-out rates and the rate of high
illiteracy.
Recommendations:
·
intensify
its efforts to create a culture of tolerance and to eliminate
all forms of discrimination, in so far as they affect women,
Roma, asylum seekers and immigrants.
·
ensure
stricter application of the legal provisions guaranteeing
men and women equal pay for equal work.
·
strictly
implement the measures at its disposal to monitor and impose
the appropriate penalties on persons or companies using child
labour.
·
intensify
its efforts to prevent drug addiction among young people and
impose appropriate penalties on persons who commit offences
relating to paedophilia, child pornography and trafficking
in women.
·
the
persisting problem of illiteracy.
