Source: MJ.

Coordination between family and criminal courts

82.In what regards cooperation and coordination between family and criminal courts, as already informed to the Committee, Law no. 24/2017, of 24 May, establishes the urgent regulation of the exercise of parental responsibilities in case of domestic violence between the parents. The abovementioned Resolution no. 139/2019 establishes, as an intervention axis, the evaluation of the judicial reaction to situations of DV, including the application of the regime on urgent regulation of parental responsibilities.

83.Public Prosecutors are particularly attentive to these cases. An internal directive of the Prosecutor’s General Office from 2017 regarding the execution of Law 96/2017 establishes that, regarding crimes of domestic violence or crimes against sexual freedom or self-determination, in cases where children are victims, the Prosecutors in charge of the inquiries shall coordinate the necessary intervention with the Public Prosecutors placed in the family and children Courts. On the other hand, these Prosecutors shall immediately inform the Public Prosecutors placed in the criminal Courts whenever a suspicion arises, in the context of family cases that a crime has occurred.

84.Resolution no. 139/2019 also foresees that a study be conducted by the Ministry of Justice on the possibility to implement an integrated judiciary approach in what regards the analysis and decision of cases which convoke both criminal and family aspects.

Compensation

85.Victims of DV are always ensured the right to a decision on compensation due by the offender within a reasonable timeframe. Even if the victim does not bring a claim for damages (whether in the context of the criminal proceedings or separately), the court may, in case of a conviction, award compensation to the victim for the harm suffered (article 82-A of the CCP ex vi article 21(2) of Law 112/2009).

86.Law 121/2015, which amended Law 104/2009 on the awarding of compensation to victims of violent crimes and domestic violence, reinforces effective access to compensation mechanisms for victims of domestic violence. Pursuant to this law, victims of domestic violence in a situation of financial deprivation may request the advanced payment of the total compensation amount to the State. In 2017, the State has warranted granted 170 requests for advanced payment of compensation to victims of DV, in a total amount of 214.892,00€. In 2018, 144 requests were granted, in a total of 203.028,00€.

87.Article 67-A of the CCP enshrines a broader concept of “victim” which includes not only the person directly affected by the crime but also family members who suffered harm as a result of that crime, in particular, in case of death.

Rehabilitation programmes for DV offender

88.The Directorate General for Rehabilitation and Prison Services (DGRSP) offer specific programs for DV offenders aiming at promoting awareness and assumption of responsibility by the offenders of their violent behaviour, and, in that regard, reducing recidivism and effectively protecting victims. The programs are available both in the community context and in the prison context and provide specific responses according to the offender’s risk and needs.

89.The main program (Program for Domestic Violence Offenders - PAVD) was conceived to be executed in a community context in a variety of scenarios: as an urgent coercive measure; as an injunction or rule of conduct in the scope of the provisional suspension of the procedure or in the scope of the suspension of execution of an imprisonment penalty; and as an ancillary penalty. Program attendance constitutes, in many occasions, an injunction and a condition to the maintenance of the measures applied, which, in case of non-compliance, may be extinct. The monitoring of the offender with resort to electronic means does not affect the programs.

90.More than one thousand offenders have attended programs in the community context in 2018.

91.In 2017, the PAVD was extended to the prison context and adapted to the specific characteristics of incarcerated offenders.

92.The Prison and Probation teams have close contact with Victims Support organizations, and cooperates closely with NGO´s and other relevant institutions such as health and mental health services, social security, employment, social welfare, in order to provide an articulated response.

Domestic violence and impact of the economic difficulties on families

93.The economic rights of DV victims are given special consideration under Law 112/2009, which includes measures aimed at ensuring their financial subsistence and autonomy. Victims who are in a situation of economic deprivation can access the Social Integration Income (RSI) – DV victims requests are subject to priority analysis. CIG and the Institute of Housing and Urban Renewal - IHRU signed a protocol to ensure access to housing to women in the RNAVVD. Also, in 2019, CIG and National Association of Portuguese Municipalities signed a protocol to reinforce the response to DV victims’ housing needs.

94.Several workshops and conferences on prevention and combat to DV and on its costs in the private sector targeted at companies, business associations, trade unions and other private sector actors have been held.

Training

95.To reinforce training of relevant professionals on DV and violence against women, namely in the justice sector (prosecutors, judges, lawyers, court clerks), security forces and health areas (medical doctors, nurses, administrative staff), CIG established protocols (e.g., with Bar Association, Centre for Judicial Studies, Directorate General for Justice Administration, police forces, Prosecutor’s General Office) to offer more training and specialisation courses and produce adequate materials for that effect.

96.Regarding the training of judges and prosecutors, CEJ provides both initial and life-long training on various topics of fundamental rights and constitutional law, in the form of courses, workshops or seminars, which include DV, gender-based violence and FGM. Only in 2017/2018, the CEJ organized one seminar, three workshops, and one conference on DV and gender-based violence. CEJ has also published several materials on VD (eg. ebook on tele-assistance, ebook on risk assessment and control, interdisciplinary manual on the implications of DV).

97.Law no. 80/2019, of 2 September, establishes that training on human rights and on domestic violence is, from now on, mandatory for judges and prosecutors.

98.As mentioned above, the Portuguese Bar Association increasingly provides training on subjects related to the rights of women. The subject of domestic violence is a particular concern of lawyers. The Regional Council of Lisbon of the Bar association has organized two conferences devoted to this subject, one in 2018 and one in 2019, which focused on a multidisciplinary approach with the involvement of other professionals, such as psychologists. Initial training also includes subjects on gender equality and domestic violence.

Sexual Violence

99.The ENIND/VAWDV action plan, already mentioned above, comprises measures to combat all types of violence against women.

Criminalization of all forms of non-consensual sexual acts

100.Law no. 83/2015, of 5 August, amended the description of the crimes of rape, sexual coercion and sexual harassment in the Criminal Code in line with the Istanbul Convention. Following the recommendations of the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO), Law no. 101/2019, of 6 September, reviewed the description of the crimes of rape and sexual coercion, clarifying that these offences are based on the absence of the consent of the victim and that the use of violence warrants the application of an aggravated penalty.

101.Although the Criminal Code does not subsume all form of non-consensual acts under the crime of rape, it qualifies and punishes a wide range of non-consensual sexual acts as crimes against sexual freedom (rape, sexual coercion, sexual abuse, harassment, and pimping). This differentiated catalogue allows for the consideration of the different degrees of severity of the conducts and of the harm produced as a consequence.

102.As for sexual harassment, the current description of the crime further includes the punishment of the conduct of importuning the victim by way of formulating sexual purposes.

103.Law no. 83/2015 also introduced the crime of stalking. Law no. 101/2019 amended the Code of Criminal Procedure extending the application of barring and restraining and protection orders to victims of threats, coercion and stalking. To ensure the victim’s safety, the prohibition imposed on the defendant of contacting by any means with a particular person or frequenting certain places may be monitored by technical means of remote control.

104.Victims of rape and sexual coercion are also exempted from paying court fees court fees during the criminal proceedings.

Emergency services for victims of rape

105.Victims of rape are considered especially vulnerable victims, statute that may warrant the application of special measures intended to protect the victim from secondary victimization or the suffering of further harm. In the case of victims of sexual violence, gender-based violence or violence in close relationships, these special measures include that the victims’ examination must be conducted by a person of the same sex as the victim, if he/she so wishes. These measures also include the conduction of examination always by the same person, measures to avoid visual contact between the victims and defendants, in particular during testimony, with resort to the appropriate technological means, taking of statements for future memory and the exclusion of publicity of the hearings.

106.In 2017 and 2018, two crisis centres for victims of sexual violence were created providing immediate psychological and psychosocial individualized support for women and girls victims of sexual violence (Lisbon and Porto, respectively). These centres are run by women’s NGO’s and financed by the State. Also, a centre for men victims of sexual violence was created in 2017.

Marital rape

107.Marital rape is punishable within the frame of the crime of rape. The penalty is increased in one third in cases where the defendant is in a family relationship or cohabitates with the victim and the crime is committed by taking advantage of such relationship. It can also be punished as a crime of DV but only if a more severe penalty is not applicable through other legal disposition (which would be the case of the crime of rape).

108.Portugal is developing since 2017 the project “Sexual violence in the relationships of intimacy” (VSRI), funded by the European Commission, promoted by CIG in partnership with Ministries of health, of Internal Affairs, of Justice, of Education and of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security. The project aims to raise awareness within professionals in these five sectors (professionals in the public administration, considered key to implement prevention programs regarding sexual violence in intimate relationships, training them to recognize, in the context of their intervention, the problem of sexual violence in intimate relations and adapt their attitudes and behaviours.

Harmful traditional practices

109.As already informed to the Committee, Law no. 83/2015 also established the crime of FGM as an autonomous crime, criminalized its preparatory acts, and introduced the crime of forced marriage and its preparatory acts. The applicable penalties may be increased depending on the level of cruelty involved, the relationship with the victim, and other aggravating circumstances.

110.According to the Criminal Code, offences of FGM and forced marriage are punishable in Portugal even if committed out of the Portuguese territory (principle of extraterritoriality), provided the offender is found in Portugal and cannot be extradited nor surrendered pursuant to the execution of an European arrest warrant or of another instrument of international cooperation binding upon the Portuguese State. This is applicable even if the offender is not a Portuguese national and the offence has been committed in his/her country of origin.

111.Victims of FGM are also exempted from paying court fees during criminal proceedings.

112.Preventing and combating FGM has been growingly prioritized over the years, with the introduction of structural measures to tackle this harmful practice. A strong investment was made in the legislative dimension, producing guidelines for the more implicated professionals, increasing knowledge about FGM (prevalence, signaling cases by the public health system), and supporting projects against MGF developed by migrant associations from communities at risk (peer approach).

113.The current Plan for the Prevention and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (2018–2021) establishes measures to combat harmful traditional practices, particularly FGM and early and forced marriages.

114.In 2016, an awareness campaign “the right to live without FGM” was launched. This campaign was (re)launched during Easter and Summer school holidays at the airports of Lisbon, Oporto and Faro, consisting in the distribution of leaflets and display of posters. In 2019, a new campaign was launched with the moto “don’t cut the future”. These two campaigns resulted from a joint initiative by the Government in partnership with various public bodies and nongovermental organizations.

115.In 2018, a major project was launched, “Práticas Saudáveis : Fim à Mutilação Genital Feminina”, giving renewed impulse to these efforts, reinforcing the involvement of public services and fostering an integrated intervention. Under the coordination of CIG, the High Commission for Migration (ACM) and the Regional Health Administration of Lisbon and Tagus Valley, activities are promoted by Public Health Units in higher prevalence areas. These activities comprise the training of professionals in key sectors (health, education, justice, security forces, social security, etc) and intervention initiatives at community level.

116.Several editions of a Post-Graduate Programme on “Sexual and Reproductive Health: Female Genital Mutilation”, financially supported by CIG, have taken place in Escola Superior de Saúde do Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal for health professionals.

117.In cooperation with CIG and civil society, ACM promoted in April 2019 a Conference dedicated to Equality and Human Right in Islam, “Girls and Women, Tradition and Islam”, focusing namely on the abandonment of harmful practices. The initiative aimed the promotion of meetings of/with religious leaders from communities in risk of FGM, child marriages and rights of women and girls and gathered various religious leaders active in Guinea-Bissau and Portugal.

118.In 2014, NCPRPCYP published a Handbook of Procedures “Collaborating actively in the prevention and elimination of FGM”, aimed at professionals of LCPCYP. In 2016, it was reviewed and updated and seven editions of a 6-hour training action were carried out in Lisbon, Sintra and Faro to 154 professionals. In 2017, provided specialised training actions on “Forced and Early Marriages” in Lisbon, Coimbra, Porto and Alentejo to 117 professionals.

10.Trafficking and exploitation of prostitution (paragraphs 28 and 29)

Identification and protection of victims

119.Portugal has a referral mechanism put in place that articulates law enforcements efforts with NGO’s supporting victims of trafficking. This mechanism was updated with recent guidelines that were implemented among all stakeholders.

120.Once police forces contact with a possible THB victim and have completed all due urgent investigative proceedings, they make a brief security, social and psychological assessment of the victim. If the victim is considered to be at any form of risk, the NGO is contacted (being available 24/7) and police officers are responsible for the transportation and security of the victim until transferred to the NGO. The NGO provides safe and secure housing for the victim, as well as social and psychological support. If, at any stage, the NGO needs further security measures or transportation it will simply contact the police investigative services that shall provide for it.

121.Victims of trafficking have the right to subsistence, access to a suitable and urgent medical treatment, psychological assistance, protection, translation and interpretation services, as well as legal services according to the law. Foreign victims have the same access to care as domestic VoT.

122.Moreover, according to Law no. 130/2015, VoT are considered as especially vulnerable victims and are, therefore, warranted specific rights, namely, special protection measures, as explained above. VoT are also exempted from paying court fees court fees during the criminal proceedings.

123.The Shelters Protections Centers provide support to women, men and children identified as victims of trafficking, regardless of their nationality, age, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, political orientation or socio-economic aspects. This support is also extended to underage children of the victims. The purpose is to ensure temporary shelter to victims of trafficking in a secure environment, promote physical and emotional recovery and social integration.

124.The objectives are to ensure protection and safety conditions; medical support, emotional recovery, stabilization and well-being; access to information concerning rights, namely legal and social protection; promote enlightened and self-determined decision making; provide victims with the necessary instruments for future autonomy, regardless of the chosen place for integration.

125.Portugal has 5 Shelters for victims of trafficking (CAP):

•The Shelter and Protection Center for women and their under aged children (since 2008) provide sheltering to women and their under aged children. The structure provides these victims with emotional stabilization, psychological, health, social and legal support, in order to promote building a co-structured life project;

•The Shelter and Protection Center for Men (since June2013). The structure provides these victims with emotional stabilization, psychological, health, social and legal support, in order to promote building a co-structured life project;

•During the year of 2014, a new shelter in the south of Portugal for women and their children was created;

•In August 2018, Akto – Human Rights and Democracy opened a Shelter and Protection Center (CAP) for Children Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings. This CAP, with a capacity to accommodate six children, ensures the temporary care and support of children victims of Trafficking in Human Beings, in a safe place, providing a dignified and welcoming environment that promotes an integral development of their physical and mental health, and their social integration, providing medical, juridical, psycho-social and educational support. The operation of this CAP is based on three key principles: confidentiality regarding its location, cross-functional and specialized technical support and the provision of a 24/7 Help Line;

•In 2019, there was an opening of a shelter for men VoT and their minor;

•Also is important to highlight the reinforcement of 2 vacancies in the capacity of the CAP Center for men victims of human trafficking.

126.Portugal has 5 Specialized Multidisciplinary Team for the assistance of THB victims. Those Regional Teams intervention covers all of the Portuguese continental territory. The five APF Regional Teams act locally, following a proximity perspective, in close collaboration with qualified professionals from governmental and non‑governmental institutions, namely Law Enforcement Agencies and the three THB Shelters and Protecting Centres. It is through such collaborative work that the victim’s emotional stabilization and social reintegration is promoted via psychological, health, social and legal support.

127.Intervention is cross-sectional to all stages of the national referral mechanism: flagging of presumable VoT, support to his/her formal identification and support to his/her integration in national territory or voluntary assisted return to the country of origin.

128.The five Specialized Regional Teams established “Regional Networks to the Support and Protection of THB Victims” (North, Centre, Lisbon, Alentejo and Algarve), networks of cooperation and information sharing with the purpose of preventing, protecting and reintegrating victims of THB.

129.With the Normative Order No. 3/2019, of 8 February, an amount was channelled to support victims of THB in order to become autonomous.

130.Due to a protocol between a northern Town Hall and the Family Planning Association (APF), an apartment was made available for victims of human trafficking become autonomous.

Persecution and conviction of traffickers

131.The list of forms of exploitation constituting Trafficking in Human Beings was expanded in 2013 by adding slavery, forced begging and the exploitation of other criminal activities. The amendments also added a list of aggravating circumstances. Furthermore, a paragraph was added stating that the victim’s consent to the offences set out in Article 160º of CC does not exclude the wrongfulness of the act.

132.THB is a public crime that any person can report to the competent authorities and a crime of priority prevention and investigation. In 2017, the Prosecutor General of the Republic issued a General Directive that establishes, inter alia, that cases of irregular immigration should be specifically analysed in order to assess whether there is evidence suggesting the practice of THB and determine that Public Prosecution Service shall coordinate with welfare institutions and NGOs, at the local level, in order to detect and report crimes of THB.

133.Moreover, Portuguese authorities sought to adapt and improve penal reaction to new forms of trafficking and recruitment by adopting new legislation, such as Law no. 71/2015, transposing EU Directive 2011/99/EU.

134.The Prosecutor-General Office is developing a centralized database (“dataCRIME”) which will allow the access and search of information and interconnecting with third party entities, in particular at European and international level, thus improving judicial cooperation to fight serious and complex cross-border crime, including THB.

Prevention and Training

135.The Observatory on Trafficking in Human Beings (OTSH) was established in order to fight the opacity which characterises the trafficking in human beings phenomenon and thus, through a better understanding, contribute to better forms of intervention regarding prevention, protection and prosecution.

136.The mission of the Observatory is to produce, collect, analyse and disseminate information and knowledge about the trafficking in human beings’ phenomenon and other forms of gender violence.

137.Every year Portugal develop training in THB involving law enforcement authorities, judges, prosecutors, social workers, health professionals, etc.

138.The Centre for Judicial Studies provides regular training on THB to judges and prosecutors.

139.Every year a national campaign on 18th of October is launched with different targets. The campaigns are disseminated on Radio; Regional Press; Outdoors; Television; Cable Channels; News and broadcast advertising space and molls.

140.Portugal has implemented during this period the III National Plan to Prevent and Combat Trafficking in Human Beings 2014–2017.

141.Currently, the implementation of the IV Action Plan for Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings 2018–2021 is ongoing, structured around 3 Strategic Objectives:

•Reinforce knowledge, and inform and raise awareness on the issue of trafficking in human beings;

•Ensure better access to trafficking victims’ rights, as well as consolidating, strengthening and qualifying intervention;

•Strengthening the fight against organized crime networks, namely to dismantle the business model and dismantle the chain supply of trafficking.

142.The Portuguese government spends on trafficking victim’s protection and assistance a million and a half euros per year. This amount includes the maintenance of five CAP shelters, the 5 Specialized Multidisciplinary Regional Teams (in the North, Centre, Lisbon area, Alentejo and Algarve), and the costs for the repatriation of victims of trafficking. Several projects are implemented in Portugal regarding TSH.

11.Participation in political and public life (paragraphs 30 and 31)

143.As mentioned above, it is important to highlight the approval of Law 62/2017, Law 26/2019 and Law 1/2019 (see section on temporary special measures) Also, funding was launched in 2019 to support local projects that promote the civic and political participation of women and girls.

144.The representation of women in the judiciary continues to increase very expressively. Women access positions in higher instance courts on equal terms as men. It should be highlighted that the Prosecutor General of the Republic is, for the second time, a woman (appointed in 2018) and that the Vice-President of the Supreme Court of Justice is also a woman.

145.The numbers from 2018 show that, considering all courts and instances, 61% of judges and 64% of prosecutors are women.

146.Representation of women in the higher courts also continues to increase. In the Supreme Court of Justice, the representation of women judges is now almost 30% and women prosecutors is 31%. In the Constitutional Court, 38% of the judges are women.

12.Education (paragraphs 32 and 33)

147.The Portuguese education and training system is inclusive and promotes social inclusion and active citizenship of all citizens regardless of their sex, age or race. The education and training pathways for children, young people and adults ensure the principle of equal opportunities and non-discrimination, gender equality, inclusion and social cohesion.

148.As already mentioned in the previous Report, CIG developed since 2008–2009 the Education Guides for Gender and Citizenship Project - A strategy to gender mainstreaming in education, which is a long-term project, as it became a political priority directed to the educational system.

149.The main type of political measures that have been reinforced are: the production of five Education Guides on Gender and Citizenship covering the 5 cycles of compulsory public education system (from 1st grade to 12th grade) and its distribution through the national school network libraries; initial and ongoing teachers’ training, supporting the generalizing application of these materials in schools nationwide; integration of women studies and gender studies in the curriculum of higher education institutions, all over the country, especially in those that ensure initial teachers training; and mobilization of municipalities in order to integrate gender equality in local policies for gender equality as well as for education and for sport; the implementation of gender equality in the ENEC.

150.The Project has been planned and coordinated by CIG in close co‑operation with 31 experts in gender studies and women’ studies, education and teachers’ training, belonging to 18 higher education institutions all over the country and required the establishment of collaboration protocols and the strengthening of partnerships with Higher Education Institutions and a central department of the Ministry of Education. 15 institutions (11 higher education institutions, 3 municipalities and 1 central body of the Ministry of Education) worked with CIG in order to provide training actions addressed to teachers. In 2018, funding through the POISE directed to the training of strategic publics has integrated, for the first time, teachers’ target. This lead to teachers training focused on the application of the Guides, to one teachers association and one community of municipalities in the central region of the country. These organizations established different connections to schools and have different dynamics of working with schools. In the last 3 years, the Regional Directorate of Education of the Autonomous Region of Madeira ensured local and regional actions of ongoing teachers training addressed to all schools of their territories focused on the disseminations and applications of the Guides in the Program of Education for Sexuality and Affections (ESA). The government of both Autonomous Region of Madeira and Azores have distributed the Guides through school libraries of their territories.

151.The gender equality political measures directed to the education system have been conducted by two priorities. On one hand, the integration of gender equality perspective and women studies in the curricula, in teachers pedagogical practices and in school decision-making and school organization and communication in order to provide scientific knowledge in curricular subjects, change individual and collective teachers practices as well as school culture, and ensure sustainability to individual changes. On the other hand, making equality between men and women a central issue of ENEC and compulsory subject of Citizenship and Development, as well as mainstreaming gender equality in the cross-curricular areas, which are priorities for the Ministry of Education, such as health education, sexual education and technologic education and in all disciplinary curricular subjects. The mainstreaming of gender equality and women’s rights in all the issues of the subject of Citizenship and Development is now the main strategy of gender mainstreaming in the Portuguese educational system.

152.Until now and mainly since 2014, the Guides achieved over one thousand school libraries; the Guides’ application have been supported by 121 teachers training with the total duration of 3.793 hours covering 1.780 teachers – 84% female and 16% male - from nearly 55% of public school clusters distributed by all the districts and 40% of the continental municipalities. Gender equality and social relationships between women and men have been put into practice in the cross curricular area of Citizenship Education and, since this year, in the compulsory subject of Citizenship and Development, as well as in several subjects of the national curriculum for preschool, basic education and secondary education (mainly in languages, biology, chemistry and physics, history, art, geography, philosophy, ICT, sport and physical education) and in school projects concerning health, sexuality and ICT.

153.A national in-service training programme is being implemented (starting in 2018) encompassing a 60 hours’ workshop on Citizenship and Development, including Human Rights and Gender Equality, among other citizenship education domains. 930 trainees (including the 812 Citizenship and Development school coordinators – one per school cluster/school) have attended it. Under the ENEC and the new curricular framework, the training sessions aim to support the definition and implementation of each School Strategy for Citizenship Education.

154.There are no specific measures implemented in Portugal to increase girls’ access to, retention in and completion of education, and vocational education and training (VET) and skills development programmes. Furthermore, it should be noted that the data and education statistics show that more girls concluded their studies with success than boys, at all types and levels of education (including at VET and higher education levels).

155.As mentioned above, ENEC aims to develop competences for a culture of democracy and learning with impact on the individual civic attitude, on the interpersonal relationship and on the social and intercultural relationship, through the ‘Citizenship and Development’ component.

156.The new curricular framework (Decree-Law no. 55/2018 of July 6th) integrates the curricular component ‘Citizenship and Development’ in the structure of all education and training provisions (from primary education to upper secondary education). ‘Citizenship and Development’ encompasses seventeen interrelated domains and six of them, namely Human Rights, Gender Equality, Interculturality, Sustainable Development, Environmental Education and Health, are mandatory for all cycles and levels of Education.

157.All the school clusters/schools have to elaborate their Citizenship Education Strategy, to be developed in collaboration with NGOs and other community partners, and have a coordinator for this component.

158.The Health Education Framework integrates specifications related to competences that promote gender equality. The theme “Mental Health and Violence Prevention”, aiming to develop in children, from pre-school education to secondary education, competences to critically analyse the causes and effects of segregation based on sex and gender; adopt attitudes and behaviours of respect for gender equality. Within the theme “Identity and Sexuality Education” there is also a sub‑theme for Gender Equality, whose objectives are: to develop awareness of being a unique person with regard to sexuality, identity, gender expression and sexual orientation and to develop a positive attitude towards gender equality.

159.A Massive Open Online Course, including a module on the new curricular component ‘Citizenship and Development’, articulated with ENEC, was implemented in 2018, being attended by 845 teachers.

160.In August 2019, the Order 7247/2019 was adopted, as part of the Law on self-determination of gender identity and gender expression and the protection of sex characteristics, establishing the administrative measures to guarantee the free development of all children’s and youth’s personality and non-discrimination at school.

161.The Ministry of Education established the Healthy School Label aiming to recognise also the schools whose environment promotes well-being, security and gender equality.

162.Various positive initiatives have been set up to increase the digital fluency and literacy in both girls and boys, such as:

•In 2015/2017 the Directorate-General of Education carried out a pilot project aimed at students of the 3rd and 4th year of schooling so that they could start an evolutionary learning course in this area. In 2017/2018 this pilot project was extended to all cycles of primary and secondary education;

•This school year, 2018/2019, ICT was introduced in the curriculum as a compulsory subject for 5th to 9th graders, and as a transversal subject for primary school.

163.In 2016, the Government implemented a pilot distance-learning education programme, fundamental to reduce training and skill shortages, also in ICT, to prevent and combat the segregation of occupations on the grounds of sex, intended for secondary school students (10 and 11 years, in the area of science and technology) and students of the 3rd cycle of basic education (professional courses).

164.Regarding Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, the Ministry of Health widely disseminates information on sexual and reproductive health and rights in websites and other means of communication.

165.The elaboration by NGOs, with the support of the Directorate General of Health, of informative resources and prevention programmes targeted at the groups with the highest vulnerability and risk, especially young people. The percentage of adolescent pregnancies has decreased in the last years.

166.“Cuida-te” (Take care of yourself) is a program of the Portuguese Youth Institute, in partnership with other public and private bodies. Its main goal is to work in the area of youth health and promoting healthy lifestyles. This programme is addressed to young people aged between 12 and 25 years, teachers, parents, youth organizations leaders, health professionals and other actors in this area. Objectives are health education, promoting the knowledge and skills in health area, in a global and integrated way, interrelating their different components: somatic, affective and psychosocial.

167.Sexual Education is compulsory at all levels of education and is implemented in projects developed by schools, from pre-school education to the end of secondary education.

168.Schools have a Student Information and Support Office, where a multidisciplinary team (in the areas of education and health) responds to their needs identified in the area of health and sexual education.

13.Employment (paragraphs 34 and 35)

169.Over time, the Portuguese State has been implementing legislative and public policy measures aimed at combating inequalities between men and women that still persist across all areas, namely in the labour market.

170.Accordingly, the legal acquis has continued to be strengthened, notably through the approval of Laws, Decree-Laws and Resolutions by the Assembly of the Republic and the Government.

171.During this period, several legislative developments took place:

•Law 60/2018, of August 21, approves measures to promote equal remuneration for women and men for equal work or work of equal value. This law contains four types of mechanisms that enforce the principle of equal pay for equal work and of equal value; First, the annual availability of statistical information about pay differences, by company (balance sheet) and by sector of activity (barometer); Second, companies have an obligation to ensure a transparent remuneration policy based on objective and non-discriminatory criteria; Third, once the differences have been identified, companies must submit to the Authority for Working Conditions (ACT) a plan for assessing these differences to be implemented for one year; Finally, any worker may request CITE to issue an opinion on the existence of pay discrimination based on sex;

•Resolution of the Council of Ministers (no. 72/2018, 6/6/2018 - D.R., IS no. 108/2018) approves the Program of Action to combat precariousness and promote collective bargaining;

•Ordinance no. 84/2015, of March 20 - D.R., IS, no. 56, 03/20/2015, creates and regulates the measure of Promotion of Gender Equality in the Labour Market;

•Law 62/2017, Law 26/2019, Organic Law 1/2019 on balanced representation of women and men in decision making in public and listed companies, among top civil servants in public administration, and in public higher education institutions and public associations, and in the electoral lists to national and European parliament, elective bodies of municipalities, and members of parish councils (see section of temporary special measures);

•The parental protection benefits scheme (maternity, paternity and adoption) was amended during the period under analysis, by Law no. 120/2015, of September 1 - D.R. IS, no. 170, 09/09/2015, reinforcing maternity and paternity rights.

•In addition to the measures which improve the parental leave scheme, by introducing the possibility that both father and mother may enjoy the initial parental leave simultaneously, when it is shared; this law established for the father the obligation to enjoy a longer initial parental leave exclusive for fathers. The father is granted a compulsory period of 15 working days (it was 10 days) (consecutive or not), of which five consecutive days must be taken immediately after birth and the remaining 10 in the 30 days following birth.

•Law no. 137/2015, of 7 September - D.R. IS, no. 174, 7/09/2015, amends the Civil Code, approved by Decree-Law no. 47 344, of November 25, 1966, modifying the regime of exercise of parental responsibilities;

•Law no. 133/2015, of September 7 - D.R. IS, no. 174, September 7, 2015, creates a mechanism for the protection of pregnant workers, workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding;

•Decree-Law no. 53/2018 of 2 July extended the social protection scheme of self-employed workers that were part of the scheme of employees, thus harmonizing the protection between the two schemes. It includes now two more benefits: child care benefit (to assist children in case of sickness or accident) and benefit for the care of grandchildren (to provide assistance following the birth of a grandchild or to take care for a grandchild);

•Law 90/2019, 4 September:

•Establishing that, in cases of hospitalization of the newborn after birth, parental leave is extended for the period of hospitalization up to a maximum of 30 days or for the whole period of hospitalization if the birth occurs before or at 33 weeks; in all cases where birth occurs before or at 33 weeks, parental leave is extended for 30 days more – becomes effective with the 2020 State Budget;

•Increasing (from 15) to 20 compulsory days the leave for fathers - becomes effective with the 2020 State Budget;

•Establishing a prohibition on discrimination based on the enjoyment of maternity and paternity rights, including in terms of pay and career progression;

•Establishing that, during trial period, the employer has a duty to communicate to the CITE the termination of work contracts of pregnant workers, workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding or workers on parental leave, within 5 working days;

•Establishing that the employer has a duty to communicate to the CITE the reasons for non-renewal of fixed-term contracts of pregnant workers, workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding or workers on parental leave, within 5 working days before prior notice.

Regarding work-life balance

172.In December 2018, the Government launched an innovative work-life balance (WLB) programme (3 em Linha – Programa para a Conciliação da Vida Profissional , Pessoal e Familiar 2018-2019), to foster conditions for women and men to be able to balance professional, personal and family life. It has 4 axes with a total of 33 actions: promoting WLB practices in private and public organizations, including through dialogue with social partners; developing specific action measures in the public administration; improvement of infrastructures, services and incentives in the care, education, transport and health sectors; and producing knowledge.

173.This programme is intersectoral and involves public and private actors, to implement very concrete actions. The following can be highlighted:

•Project called Pacto para a conciliação (WLB Pact) that brings together public and private organistations (currently 58 and increasing) that voluntarily commit to implement and certify a WLB management system according to the Portuguese standard NP4552:2016. This includes central and local public administration organizations, public companies and private companies. In less than one year, already 9 organisations have been certified by accredited independent certifying entities;

•In 2019, Government launched two funding lines to support SME and public administration organizations in implementing and certifying this WLB management system, under NP4552:2016, in a total of 31.5M€;

•Upon a proposal by the Government, social partners agreed to create the first working group to develop WLB measures throughout 2019 and 2020;

•Increase in the fathers’ number of compulsory days under parental leave (from 15 to 20) – see above reference to Law 90/2019, 4 September;

174.There is a rising trend in the number of notifications of the intention of non‑renewal of a fixed-term employment contract for pregnant workers, workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding, as well as for workers on parental leave.

Evolution of the number of notifications of non-renewal of fixed term contracts (2012–2018)

Source: CITE.

175.In 2018, CITE received 45 complaints regarding violations of legal provisions on equality and non-discrimination between women and men (34 in 2017, 64 in 2016, 129 in 2015, 210 in 2014). In the last years the number of complaints dropped. Of all these 482 complaints, only 63 were related with maternity rights; 210 were related with flexitime work and 30 were about part-time.

176.The number of legal opinions regarding violations of the legal provisions of equality and non-discrimination has been steadily increasing. In 2014, 462 legal opinions were produced by CITE. That figure rose to 585 in 2015, to 688 in 2016 and to 747 in 2017. In 2018, CITE gave 727 legal opinions.

177.Most of CITE’s legal opinions are related with working time arrangements for working mothers and fathers, such as flexitime and part-time.

178.The number of legal opinions CITE on the intention of dismissal were: in 2018, 80 (11%); in 2017, 76 (10%); in 2016, 91 (14%); in 2015, 112 (20%); and in 2014, 89 (19%).

179.Most of the legal opinions related with the intention of dismissal concern women: In 2018, 95%; in 2017, 94%; in 2016, 97%; in 2015, 96% and 93% in 2014.

180.Regarding the evolution in the last years of the use of parental leave, in general, there is a growing use of the leaves to which the father is entitled and a positive evolution of the sharing of the parental leave between mother and father. Of note is the continued adherence of working parents to the sharing of parental leave (120/150 days initial parental leave), which figure rose from 10.1% in 2009 to 30.3% in 2014 and to 39.9% in 2018 (on the percentage of women’s total leave).

181.Data regarding women’s participation in the labour market shows a positive trend concerning employment and unemployment.

182.The employment rate in Portugal has been on a rising trend since 2013. The gap between male and female rates has narrowed slightly, being in 2018 at 9.8 p.p., below the EU28 average (11. 9 p.p.). The narrowing of the gap between male and female employment rates results from a higher growth in female employment rate.

Employment rate (15–64 years old) in Portugal, by sex, 2012–2018 (%)

Source: National Statistics (INE), Labour Force Survey.

183.At the same time, unemployment has been falling since 2013, similarly between men and women. However, youth unemployment (15–24 years old and 25–34 years old) declined sharply.

184.Youth unemployment (15–24 years old), between 2017 and 2018, fell more sharply in women than in the global unemployed population.

185.There is a reduction in the gender pay gap from 16.6% in 2014 and 2015 to 15.7% in 2016 and to 14.8% in 2017 in terms of basic wage, going from 155.6 €/month to € 149.5/month what women earned less than men between 2016 and 2017. Regarding the earnings, the decrease was from 19.1% to 18.2%, which still represents an average loss of 224.1 € per month for women in relation to men.

186.However, between 2014 and 2018 CITE only received five complaints related with gender pay gap.

Average monthly basic wage and earnings by sex and gender pay gap in Portugal, 2010–2017 (€)

	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Average monthly basic wage
M	974,4	982,0	996,6	990,5	981,7	986,5	994,0	1.008,7
W	799,6	806,5	812,8	814,6	818,5	823,2	838,4	859,2
Average monthly earnings
M	1.182,7	1.193,2	1.209,9	1.205,8	1.199,8	1.204,4	1.212,2	1.233,5
W	935,3	945,1	954,9	956,7	961,6	965,3	981,0	1.009,4
Gender pay gap (%)
M	17,9	17,9	18,4	17,8	16,6	16,6	15,7	14,8
W	20,9	20,8	21,1	20,7	19,9	19,8	19,1	18,2

Source: GEP/MTSSS, Lists of Personnel.

Gender pay gap in Portugal, 2010–2017 (%)

Source: GEP/MTSSS, Lists of Personnel.

187.CITE is in charge of assessing the legality of collective bargaining provisions with regards to their compliance with equality between women and men in labour law requirements.

188.Between 2014 and 2018, CITE appraised 1130 Collective Regulation Instruments. Of the total IRCT analysed, 124 contained illegal clauses (240 illegal clauses were flagged) and the parties were notified to comment and to promote the changes necessary to adapt these provisions.

189.The most frequent non-compliance with law refer to the maternity and paternity rights.

190.With regard to non-legislative initiatives, in order to fight against the persistence of gender gaps in the workplace, to produce knowledge and identify relevant data to inform policy-making, to provide tools and resources to overcome these gaps and put the gender equality on the agenda of the social partners, the employers, the media, as well as the general public, different programmes, actions, projects, awareness raising and training have been developed and implemented by Portugal.

191.In order to promote the involvement of employers, CITE has sponsored, since 2013, a working partnership with private sector organisations and state-owned companies – IGEN – Forum of Organisations for Gender Equality – to implement, monitor and disseminate concrete measures/actions on gender equality, including on work-life balance, on recruitment, on horizontal and vertical desegregation and on combating wage inequality.

192.The IGEN Forum, that brings together organisations committed to promote measures for gender equality and fight against all forms of gender based discrimination in the workplace, has the goal to further progress organisations’ commitment to gender equality and to address obstacles they face regarding the implementation of measures and policies on gender equality.

193.Over the years, 68 organisations, mainly companies, have joined this Forum. The Forum members pledged to undertake actions to promote gender equality (including parental rights, maternity, paternity, work-family reconciliation, decision-making and pay gap) and established quantified targets for improvement.

194.The Forum meets quarterly in order to make decisions, discuss proposals presented by any member, approve documents and activities and share good practices. In such meetings, two or three companies present and discuss their practices.

195.Throughout this process, the organisations share their experiences, difficulties, strategies to overcome the obstacles and main achievements. They work as a community of knowledge and practice and an on-line platform was created to share information.

196.The work developed in this Forum has positively influenced other organisations bringing them to join it, which allow the Forum to grow as a network around a common commitment to develop gender equality measures in the respective internal policies.

Actions implemented by IGEN members

		Gender Equality Areas
	Number of gender equality actions implemented	Work-life balance	Protection of maternity and paternity	Remunerations and career	Recruitment
2014	96	36,0%	4,0%	8,0%	9,0%
2015	56	40,0%	18,0%	8,0%	0,0%
2016	102	25,0%	10,0%	10,0%	1,0%
2017	112	14,6%	14,6%	7,3%	0,0%

197.Within the context of Law no. 60/2018, of august 21st, a Sector-level Barometer on pay disparities was recently introduced (June 2019). The Barometer is produced by the Strategy and Planning Office of the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security based on information provided every year by companies and includes detailed data on pay disparities by economic activity sector. The first edition of the Barometer includes sector-level data on the adjusted gender pay gap, providing an innovative source of information on this subject. The Barometer is meant to improve statistics, raise awareness and promote a wide-ranging debate on equal pay in the Portuguese society.

198.In 2014 CITE developed two web tools (available on CITE’s website since the beginning of 2015) that enable companies to analyse their personnel and pay structure and understand whether the pay differences founded are gender-based or not, allowing companies to self-testing and self-regulate in this matter and voluntarily adopting measures and practices that can correct the gaps found.

199.The Self-Assessment Survey on Equal Pay between Men and Women in Companies is a tool built in order to evaluate some organisational practices related to the valuation of the work and the payment of salaries and other benefits to their workers.

200.The Gender Pay Gap Calculator (Calculator DSG) is a software tool that allows companies to conduct a self-assessment exercise on equal pay between men and women. It allows the measuring of the gender pay gap within the companies and the identification of concrete situations of pay gap between women and men, allowing knowing whether these differences are explained by objective factors or by the variable sex.

201.The number of entities that have already accessed these tools reveals the relevance of the tools. Last year 860 users logged in 1004 times to the Gender Pay Gap Calculator and 159 did the self-assessment survey.

202.In June 2017 CITE initiated a training cycle called “Equality Workshops” aiming at analysing gender gaps in labour market indicators, combating labour segregation and discrimination and promote gender equality by deconstructing gender stereotypes and preconceived ideas. This training is organised into four sessions covering the following subjects: the situation of women and men in the labour market; gender concepts and principles; strategies and tools for equality; elaboration of participants’ action plans.

203.Until now, CITE delivered nine rounds of training involving 364 trainees (364 women and 37 men) from central and local public administration, managers and officers from NGOs, trade unions and companies.

204.CITE promotes since 2000, and in partnership with the CIG, since 2009, the Equality is Quality Award (PIQ) that distinguishes companies and other employers with policies in the area of gender equality, work-life balance and good practices for preventing and combating domestic violence and gender based violence.

205.Since the first edition 249 organisations applied to PIQ, 18 received it and 41 received an “honourable mention”. The public ceremony of the 12th edition of PIQ took place on June 29, 2018.

206.Every year, since 2013, the National Equal Pay Day is signalled to raise public awareness in order to reverse the persistent difference between what women earn and what men earn, disseminating information on inequalities among the main stakeholders within the labour market, enterprises and employers’ associations of the major economic sectors as well as the social partners.

207.A new National Campaign for Equal Pay – Eu mereço igual (“I deserve the same”), developed by CITE was presented on June 2019 to raise awareness, elucidate and motivate society for the need for a paradigm shift.

208.This campaign was disclosed on television, radio, social networks and billboards in September (as part of the celebration of CITE’s 40th anniversary) and in November, on occasion of the National Equal Pay Day.

209.To raise public awareness on work-life balance and equal sharing of family responsibilities between women and men, CITE designed and launched the National Campaign on Reconciliation and Time Use, in October 2016.

210.The campaign motto, based on the gendered time use regarding the articulation of work with personal and family life as a tool for gender equality, was “It is time! Let’s reconcile the time between work and family”, comprising four different messages and four different images addressing different targets: the workplace, the family life, and the personal life.

211.The Campaign was disseminated to different stakeholders and in diversified platforms at different times. A leaflet, a calendar and a notepad magnet were distributed to CITE’s members, organisations and companies. Radio ADS were broadcasted in the Emissora das Beiras Radio during November 2016. TV spots were broadcasted in the RTP and Media Capital TV channels. Posters were disseminated at outdoors in mainland Portugal and displayed in public transports of Lisbon area; a campaign banner headline for websites was displayed in webpages of public services.

Gender equality in the labour market

212.IEFP actively promotes, in all its areas of competence, gender equality. Workers or jobseekers are entitled to equal opportunities and treatment regarding access to employment and training.

213.Regarding access to employment, the publication and validation of job vacancies cannot hold any requirement, restriction or preference based on sex/gender. At the level of the Public employment Service, 55.7% of the unemployed registered (at the end of the month) in December 2018 were women. Consequently, the universe covered by employment measures, vocational training and rehabilitation measures is characterized by being also mostly feminine.

Registered unemployment 2018

Men	150 357	44, 3%
Women	188 678	55, 7%
Total	339 035	100%

Source: IEFP, I.P.

214.Concerning active employment measures, it is noteworthy that women are mainly represented in the most important employment measures such as “professional traineeship”, “hiring support” and “Workfare”, although as already mentioned, neither of these measures privileges or prioritizes the access of women.

215.About access to training, in the last decades, Portugal has made strong efforts to improve its human capital and raise the level of qualifications of the population through different approaches, which include policies related to education, training, and higher education, as well as different strategies for children, youngsters and adults, particularly women, aiming to combat structural problems that have an impact on the country’s social cohesion, economic growth and sustainability profile.

216.Simultaneously the technological changes and related transformations in labour markets require the upskilling and reskilling of the working age population. Having a labour market relevant qualification – be it academic or vocational – is increasingly important to adapt to a rapidly changing economy and to address the demand for high skills.

217.Therefore, increasing the skills level of the adult population, including digital literacy, by strengthening and broadening the coverage of the training component in adult qualification programmes is one of the key policy priorities for the Portuguese Authorities.

Accumulated Data 10 2018

Area of intervention/measures	Total	Genre
Male	Female
Employment	84 356	32 927	51 429
Traineeships	32 340	13 221	19 119
Hiring support	13 072	5 468	7 604
Job creation and business	2 745	1 563	1 182
Workfare – occupational programmes	36 199	12 675	23 524
Vocational training	183 684	74 282	109 402
Qualification for youngsters	23 290	14 659	8 631
Qualification for adults	158 893	59 129	99 764
Training of trainers	1 501	494	1 007
Professional rehabilitation	19 272	10 692	8 580
Total	287 312	117 901	169 411

Source: IEFP, IP, SIEFF, SIGAE, SGC e SGFOR.

218.IEFP is responsible for several measures under ENIND, such as:

(a)Combatting sexual segregation in professions, by collecting indicators about:

•Number of training courses for Job Centre’s technicians dealing with recruitment and selection;

•Number of Job canters’ technicians covered by training courses;

•Number of actions to advertise the Promotion of Gender Equality at the Labour Market measure;

•Number of created jobs that financial support was given to employers that enter into labour contracts with unemployed jobseekers of the under-represented gender in a particular occupation, registered with the Job Centers, in the scope of the Employment Measures such as Hiring Support and Professional Traineeships Measure (bonus employment- after contracting);

•Number of initiatives and actions of awareness raising to encourage corporations to adopt practices and action plans to fight sexual segregation in the professions (e.g. Gender Equality Promotion in the Labour Market).

(b)Removing income disparities between women and men:

•Evaluation of the feasibility of incorporating salary negotiation skills in the scope of the revision of the methodologies of relationship with the users of the Public Employment Service (PES) is being carried out;

(c)Ensuring protection in parenthood and promoting balance between professional, personal and family life:

•Maintenance of the positive discrimination and increase in the support to corporations/employers that integrate single parent families through Hiring-Support (Contrato-Emprego), Professional Traineeships (EstágiosProfissionais), Employment-Integration Contract +(CEI+). The number of single-parent families profiting from these measures is also data collected to the Action Plan;

(d)Promoting equality between women and men (IMH) in higher education and scientific and technological development:

•Implementation of the “Training for Digital Citizenship” measure, ensuring a balanced participation of women and men, designed to ensure access to new digital technologies for the whole Portuguese population, including the use of online public services, electronic notifications, digital security and social networks.

219.The measure “Promotion of Gender Equality in the Labour Market “was also associated to ENIND, aiming to:

•Promote gender equality in the labour market;

•Combat sex discrimination in the labour market;

•Encourage the hiring of unemployed people of the under-represented sex in a profession;

•Encourage young unemployed to choose a profession or function, according to their vocation and without constraints motivated by gender stereotypes.

220.In 2018, 1 756 jobs were created representing about 13% of the total number of jobs under the hiring support employment measure, of which 60.1% were filled out by men and 39.9% by women.

Gender Equality (GE) promotion in the labour market (2018) number of covered

Total	Men		Women
Nº	%	Nº	%
1 756	1 055	60, 1	701	39, 9

Source: IEFP, I.P.

Gender Equality - hiring measures

2018		2017		2016		2015
Covered recipients	GE	Covered	GE	Covered	GE	Covered	GE
11316	1756	31562	4478	16348	2379	49594	4365

Source: IEFP, I.P.

221.IEFP also contributes to eliminate the pay disparities between women and men, ensuring the protection of parenthood and promoting work-life balance through special conditions of access and increasing the support to entities that hire recipients from single-parent families (i.e. employment contract measure-hiring measures, professional traineeships, workfare - employment contract-insertion +), even though it is not intended just for women, figures illustrate that they are the ones that benefit most from the employment measures.

Majorations integration of single-parent families

Year	2015	2016	2017	2018
Covered	16.219	11.809	10.524	8.979

Source: IEFP, I.P.

222.Regarding the integration of Roma women, IEFP is also responsible for some measures under the Strategy Integration of Roma Communities (ENICC), namely to promote the participation of Roma girls and women in the labour market, in the context of employment measures (Employment and conversion bonuses). This measure is very recent, and data is not yet available.

223.IEFP is also responsible for a range of diversified measures to support unemployed recipients, regarding the promotion of entrepreneurship. Women are also candidates and beneficiaries for this entrepreneurship programs.

224.The graphic below displays the evolution of applications by sex, noting that the number of women applications has increased more than men´s applications.

Graph 1

Percentage Evolution of the number of applications entrepreneurship projects

Source: IEFP, IP.

225.On an annual basis IEFP also carries in its action program, training in entrepreneurship.

226.Under the scope of Action Plan on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, IEFP has been contributing to improve the living conditions of these victims by promoting priority access, in some of the employment measures, to employment programs/measures. IEFP develops positive action measures regarding the empowerment of DV victims. IEFP also has staff to attend victims of domestic violence in a private atmosphere supporting them accessing vocational guidance and labour market. The following table shows, VDV attended at job centers and integrated into the labor market or employment/training measures, in the years 2014 to 2018, disaggregated by Action Plan.

National plans	Years of implementation	DVV attended	Number integrations*
Action Plan on preventing and combating VAWDV 2018 – 2030	2019 (by 30th September)	292	100
2018	637	209
V National Plan for Preventing and Combating GBVDV 2014 – 2017	2017	581	184
2016	608	231
2015	705	327
2014	514	295

Source: IEFP.

Equality and non-discrimination inspection’s services

227.In the inspections by the Working Conditions Authority (ACT) services, with regard to the verification of working conditions in the framework of working relations, occupational health and safety (OSH), 36,076 visits were made in 2017, covering 263,100 workers, from which 148,925 were men and 114,175 women.

228.ACT’s actions have been increasingly reflecting a global and integrated approach to situations, favouring multidimensional inspection actions that simultaneously address labour relations and OSH issues. Following data reflects the inspection’s procedures associated with the themes.

Equality and non-discrimination inspection’s procedures (coercive and non-coercive)

	Warning notice		Action to improve notice		Others		Infractions
Subjects	2017	2016	2015	2017	2016	2015	2017	2016	2015	2017	2016	2015
Equality and non-discrimination	507	140	267	2	1	–	0	0	–	35	30	18
Equal access to employment and work	36	4	7	2	0	–	0	0	–	4	2	2
Posting of equality and non-discrimination rights and duties	467	134	255	0	1	–	0	0	–	4	4	1
Prohibition of discrimination	2	1	1	0	0	–	0	0	–	3	5	3
Moral harassment	1	0	3	0	0	–	0	0	–	22	18	12
Sexual harassment	0	0	0	0	0	–	0	0	–	2	0	0
Equal working conditions	1	1	1	0	0	–	0	0	–	0	1	0
Parenting	43	14	8	4	11	–	0	0	–	19	24	12
Initial parental leave	11	0	2	0	1	–	0	0	–	0	0	–
Exclusive Father Parental Leave	0	1	–	0	0	–	0	0	–	0	0	–
Supplementary Parental Leave	1	0	–	0	0	–	0	0	–	0	1	–
Exercise of the right to work part-time	4	5	1	0	0	–	0	0	–	11	4	7
Notice to CITE of part-time work refusal	2	0	2	0	0	–	0	0	–	3	11	1
Prior opinion of CITE - dismissal	0	0	0	0	0	–	0	0	–	0	3	1
CITE’s unfavourable opinion - dismissal after court decision	0	0	–	0	0	–	0	0	–	0	1	–
Breastfeeding or lactation waiver	3	1	0	0	0	–	0	0	–	2	2	1
Overtime waiver	0	0		0	0		0	0		1	1
Flexible schedule with child under 12	2	3	3	0	0	–	0	0	–	1	1	1
Leave, absence and waiver arrangements	19	3	0	0	0	–	0	0	–	1	0	1
Pregnant, postpartum or lactating OSH protection	1	1	–	4	10	–	0	0	–	0	0	–

Source: ACT

229.Visits were carried out to develop prevention and control strategies to promote equality and non-discrimination policies and practices in access to employment and working conditions.

230.The exercise of information and control in the context of gender equality and non-discrimination at work and employment focused on the protection of guarantees associated with parenting, the prevention of sex discrimination at work and employment and the promotion of equal pay for men and women.

Accidents at work reported to ACT

231.The occurrence of occupational accidents and occupational diseases is a significant indicator of the existence of workplace dysfunctions and their surroundings.

232.The information on its occurrence allows ACT to assertively direct its inspection activity to the productive activities and organizations where they take place, in order to better understand the needs of correction and the adoption of preventive measures.

233.ACT’s main sources of knowledge of workplace accident verification are:

•The mandatory participation of employers, to which, in the case of civil construction, the participation of the executing entities and the owners of the building;

•The participation of police authorities;

•The media.

234.The commuting accident or in itinere , although also causing fatalities, can be excluded from this classification when it can be concluded, according to common experience, that the causal factors identified are significantly unrelated to the field of corrective intervention susceptible to management from the employer.

235.ACT treats occupational accidents under investigation according to the following parameters: economic activity, company size, month, weekdays, form and national versus foreign working population, and by sex.

Number of fatal accidents reported and investigated by sex

	2015	2016	2017
Men	134	131	100
Women	8	9	9
Total	142	140	109

Source: ACT.

Training and Information

236.ACT collaborates with CITE’s Equality and Non-Discrimination Laboratory Cycles – where Labour inspectors participate as trainees.

237.ACT offers information services available to the general public, through the telephone information service, whose monthly average usage continues to grow, and through on-site attendance services 5 days a week in the 32 local services, as well as through ACT’s constant presence on social networks – (Facebook, twitter).

238.ACT’s website provides specific information guides on equality and non‑discrimination, harassment, lists and a specific form for harassment.

239.ACT’s awareness raising activities also cover gender equality issues addressed to the School Community, students, teachers, parents and guardians, administrative assistants and others through the “Back to School Campaign” program.

14.Health (paragraphs 36 and 37)

240.Gender issues and inequalities are addressed in team intervention by Family Health Teams (National Program for Children and Youth Health Regulation 10/2013 of DGS – General Health Department), Preparation Courses for Childbirth and Parenting, School Health Teams (National School Health Program – DGS), among others, following the technical manuals guiding the intervention of health professionals in the prevention of ill-treatment of children and young people, as well as violence in adults, with a special focus on gender issues.

241.Medically assisted procreation is permitted to all women regardless of infertility diagnosis, marital status or sexual orientation, including couples of women, since 2016.

242.The Health Action on Gender, Violence and Life Cycle (ASGVCV), created through the order no. 6378/2013, aims to homogenize the national intervention and potentiate the interventions already developed in the health services that are considered good practices in the field of violence. This Action also intends to promote equality, particularly health equity, as well as the prevention of interpersonal violence in adults, through the functional articulation with other like structures in the health services and in the community. This integrated model of intervention on interpersonal violence cases in health settings is considered a good practice by the European Institute for Gender Equality.

243.As a result of the ASGVCV, 224 Teams of Prevention of Violence in Adults (EPVA) at national level (Primary Health Care and Hospitals) were created. In the course of the same year, 2.434 new cases of interpersonal violence were signaled by the EPVA, of those:

•25% concern men and 75% women;

•In a study of partial data, corresponding to 3 of the 5 Regional Health Administrations, of the cases identified as domestic violence (554 cases), 15% of the victims were male and 85% were female victims;

•In 2018, 2893 new cases were signaled by the EPVA.

244.The preparation of health professionals in both primary and hospital care has continued and intensified over the last few years, with various training activities at the level of the 5 regional health administrations, and there have also been initiatives in Autonomous Region of the Azores, that are having continuity.

245.Considering that interpersonal violence is a common problem in intimate and family relationships emerged the need to define protocols for structured intervention.

246.The technical document “Violence - Approach, Diagnosis and Intervention in Health Services” (2014) and the Practical Guide “Interpersonal Violence – Approach, Diagnosis and Intervention in Health Services” (2017), intended to support the clinical action in the presence of situations of violence, include a comprehensive protocol of intervention, as well as complementary and more specific protocols according to the typology of the violence in question. Among these, it relates to situations of sexual assault.

247.In October 2019, a National Program for the Prevention of Violence over the Lifecourse (Programa Nacional de Prevenção da Violência no Ciclo de Vida) was created by the Order n. 9494/2019 of the Secretary of State for Healthcare. Coordinated under the DGS, this Program aims to ensure early detection of violence situations and risk factors, garantee an adequate intervention in the cases of violence, and promote non-violent interpersonal relationships.

15.Mortgages and financial credit (paragraphs 38 and 39)

248.Resolution of Council of Ministers 50-A/2018, May 2, approved the New Generation of Housing Policies that establish the strategic direction, objectives and instruments of action for a new generation of housing policies (NGPH). This policy addresses the main structural problems related to access to adequate housing and is articulated with instruments that respond to the needs of most vulnerable groups, such as the Roma integration strategy, the national strategy for the integration of homelessness and measures to support protection and the process of autonomisation of victims and survivors of domestic violence.

16.Rural women (paragraphs 40 and 41)

249.Portugal recognizes the importance of the role of women in rural areas, not only because of their influence on the economy of these areas, but also for their contribution to economic diversification, environmental conservation and preservation of natural heritage.

250.In terms of representation and participation, the Association of women farmers and rural women Portugal – MARP (the main association in Portugal representing rural women) is represented and participates in the consultative body CIG, in charge of developing public policies in the areas of citizenship and gender equality.

251.Moreover, and recognizing the needs of rural women in the area of prevention and protection against violence, ENIND reinforces the national coverage of victim support and protection services, particularly in rural and isolated areas, strengthening local networks between municipalities, women’s NGOs and other actors. The protocols established between CIG and municipalities are a key instrument to achieve this.

252.Moreover, ENIND also reinforced gender-mainstreaming mechanisms in all fields of governance to ensure an integrated, coherent and effective intervention on the ground. In particular, the gender perspective is integrated in the national program for the valorization of inland areas through new protocols between central and local administration, financial support to local projects to promote equality between women and men, and through reinforcing local networks to prevent and eliminate violence against women and domestic violence.

253.In addition, in 2018, the Government approved the Small-Scale Family Agriculture Status. This is an area where women face severe disadvantages. This status is supposed to have a strong impact on the empowerment and participation of rural women, particularly in the agricultural labor market by providing them with more skills, means, and access to more favorable social security and tax systems.

254.In 2016, the Government implemented a pilot distance-learning education program, fundamental to reduce training and skill shortages, also in ICT. This program aims to complement the recurrent secondary education network, responding to the problem created by geographical dispersion, particularly in regions of low population density, such as rural areas, and the need felt by an active population in Portugal that has not completed secondary education.

255.Finally, security forces develop special programs of community policing, such as the Program Support 65 – Safety that aims to ensure a safety net for isolated seniors or for those at risk of social isolation, by supporting and raising awareness. The Program Support 65 covers 94% of mainland territory.

256.Moreover, the Portuguese model of sustainable rural development aims to strengthen the multifunctional agro-forestry sector through a three-fold approach: firstly economic, through the enhancement of marketable goods; secondly environmental, by developing services and sustainable management of resources; and thirdly strengthening territories by improving the governance of local communities and their related activities.

17.Roma women (paragraphs 42 and 43)

257.Under ENIND, CIG and ACM have been carrying out a number of actions embedded in the intersectional approach.

258.All measures and indicators in ENIND regarding Roma women and girls are articulated with the National Roma Communities Integration Strategy 2018–2022, which has been updated, namely in regards to strengthening the national commitment towards the improvement of conditions for Roma women and girls.

259.Considering the growing feminization of migration flows as well as the needs of Roma women and girls, ACM invested in taking a gender-responsive approach to integration policies, services and activities.

260.In January 2019, ACM created a Project area on Intersecting Inequalities, aiming to develop and implement gender sensitive policies and measures for the integration of migrants – including refugees and asylum seekers – and Roma.

261.This project area focuses on national, European and international challenges in the field of the integration of migrants and Roma communities, in line with European and international recommendations – such as the Istanbul Convention and the Gender Equality Strategy 2018–2023 of the Council of Europe, as well as the 2030 Agenda and the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015–2024).

262.Under the Decade mentioned above, and concerning women, ACM promoted initiatives for dialogue and networking, namely a Meeting-Debate, “Erased, Silences, Invisibilities”, among feminist CSO and collectives, in partnership with the Museum Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. The event took place in March 2019, and the discussion was developed though the work of the artist Yto Barrada, with works strongly marked by narratives of histories and identities, in her relation with the colonial and post-colonial past, and her relationship to the West.

263.In addition, ACM organized an international seminar, in collaboration with the European Network for Migrant Women, called “Intersectionality: the situation of black women and women of African descent.”

264.The key note speech was delivered by the former Chairperson of UN CEDAW and current Chair of the Working Group on the General Recommendation Trafficking in Women and Girls in the context of the Global Migration, Prof. Dalia Leinarte.

265.This event took place in May 2019, in Lisbon, signaling Africa Day, which is celebrated on the 25th of May.

266.Promotion of awareness raising sessions and workshops throughout 2018 on Gender Equality, Violence against Women and Domestic Violence – including Traditional Harmful Practices – and Human Trafficking targeted professionals who work directly or indirectly with migrant and Roma communities, in the National and Local Support Centers for the Integration of Migrants and in the Choices Programme (which aims to promote the inclusion of vulnerable children and youth, and foster equality and social cohesion):

•2 awareness raising sessions on Forced and Early Marriages in the Lisbon National Support Centre for the Integration of Migrants, with 27 participants (24 women and 3 men);

•2 workshops on Gender Equality in the Lisbon and Porto National Support Centre for the Integration of Migrants, with 57 participants (46 women and 11 men);

•3 workshops on DV in the Lisbon and Porto National Support Centre for the Integration of Migrants, with 72 participants (58 women and 14 men);

•2 awareness raising sessions on Human Trafficking for the Choices Programme and the Lisbon and Porto Network of Partners, with 38 participants (36 women and 2 men).

267.The Operational programme for Educational Promotion is an initiative addressed to young people from Ciganos (Roma) Communities enrolled in higher education that give them scholarships and tutorships. In the school year 2017/2018, the rate of scholar success of this program was 64%, and roma girls were 75%.

18.Marriage and family relations (paragraphs 44 and 45)

268.Law no. 85/2019, 3 September, repealed the time limits for remarriage following dissolution of a previous marriage thus eliminating the existing discrimination between men and women.

269.The default minimum age for marriage is 18 years, that is, full legal capacity. Children older than 16 can only marry with a parental or tutor approval that the Registrar can dismiss only in very exceptional circumstances. Marriage of children younger than 16 is, in any case, forbidden.

270.Moreover, as referred above, someone who forces another to contract marriage or a union comparable to marriage commits a crime. Whenever there is a suspicion of forced marriage, the Registrar shall refuse its registration and, if a child is involved, report the case to the CNPDCJ. Any marriage contracted under constraint may be declared void.

19.Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (paragraph 46)

271.Portugal submitted its Beijing +25 Report in June 2019.

20.2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (paragraph 47)

272.As a sign of the national commitment to the 2030 Agenda 2030, in July 2017, Portugal presented the first National Volunteer Report – a basic tool and a fundamental exercise of policy analysis and strategic alignment to the implementation of the 2030 agenda in the country.

273.Among the 17 sustainable development goals (ODS), Portugal has identified the ODS 4 “quality education”, 5 “gender equality”, 9 “industry, innovation and Infrastructure”, 10 “reduce inequalities” and 13 “climate action” and 14 “Protect marine life” as a priority. On the one hand, they reflect the three dimensions of sustainable development: economy, society and environment; on the other hand, we consider that a positive performance in these SDG contributes directly to achieving the remaining SDG until 2030.

274.According to the study “Measuring Distance to SDG Targets 2019” by the OECD, Portugal is above the average of the countries to achieve SDG 7, 13 and 14, related to energy, climate and oceans. It has a better performance than the average goals related to gender equality, climate, oceans, energy and institutions (5, 13, 14, 7 and 16) and is below average in SDG related to sustainable production and cities (11 and 12).

275.For the implementation of SDG 5, the Secretary of State for Citizenship and Equality set-up a Working Group, in 2016, involving the main stakeholders (public, private and NGO’s). It is important to highlight that ENIND is aligned with the 2030 Agenda.

276.Also, data collection and compilation on SDG 5 indicators and on gender-specific indicators under other SDGs begun. Please consult the SDG publication and tables.

277.In 2019, the NCPRPCYP has endeavored to mainstream child participation in public decision making, which is expected to directly impact the achievement of SDG 5 as well as SDG 10 and 16.

21.Dissemination (paragraph 48)

278.Portugal translated the concluding observations and disseminated through the main channels. They were sent to the main stakeholders.

22.Technical assistance (paragraph 49)

279.In the context of international technical assistance, CIG’s mission is to monitor and participate in the work of international organizations and their bodies or agencies in the field of equality between women and men and to collaborate with others national bodies, with a view to defending the positions of Portugal, to report information on the national situation in this respect, as well as to promote the fulfilment of the commitments undertaken by Portugal at international level. Among other, it should be highlighted the relations within the European Union, of the Union for the Mediterranean, of the Council of Europe, the CPLP, of Ibero-america and the United Nations.

280.Also, the partnership with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein in the framework of the European economic area financial mechanism 2014–2021 (MFEEE), on the quality of Donor States. CIG is Programme Operator of the Programmatic Area “reconciliation and equality”, with a total allocation of EUR 7 million. Through this program innovative and structural projects to the country will be funded in the areas of reconciliation of professional, family and personal life, domestic violence and gender and good governance, in line with ENIND.

23.Ratification of other treaties (paragraph 50)

281.Since 2014, Portugal ratified the following instruments: European Agreement relating to persons participating in proceedings of the European Court of Human Rights; Sixth Protocol to the General Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Council of Europe; Protocol No. 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; Additional Protocol to the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine concerning Transplantation of Organs and Tissues of Human Origin; Protocol amending the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism; Additional Protocol to the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption; Additional Protocol to the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, concerning Biomedical Research; Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism; Additional Protocol to the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine concerning Genetic Testing for Health Purposes; Third Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Extradition; Council of Europe Convention on the counterfeiting of medical products and similar crimes involving threats to public health; Protocol No. 15 amending the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions; Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Organs; Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism; Council of Europe Convention on an Integrated Safety, Security and Service Approach at Football Matches and Other Sports Events; Kampala Amendments to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; Amendment to article 124 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.