Committee on the Rights of the Child

Sixty-fifth session

13–31 January 2014

Item 4 of the provisional agenda

Consideration of reports of States parties

List of issues in relation to the combined third and fourth periodic reports of Portugal (CRC/C/PRT/3-4)

The State party is requested to submit in writing additional, updated information, if possible before 1 November 2013.

The Committee may take up all aspects of children’s rights contained in the Convention during the dialogue with the State party.

Part I

In this section, the State party is requested to submit its responses to the following questions (30 pages maximum).

1.Please specify whether a comprehensive national policy and strategy has been developed for the implementation of the Convention in the State party and if so, please provide information on its content, including its aims, implementation budget and monitoring and evaluation process.

2.Please provide information on the impact of the financial crisis on children and their families living in poverty, and the measures taken to redress and mitigate the effects of the financial crisis on child poverty, especially with respect to children in need of special protection, including Roma, migrants, asylum seekers, unaccompanied children and children living in street situations.

3.Please provide information on measures taken to combat stereotypes and discrimination against girls, ethnic and racial minorities, immigrant children, children with disabilities and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adolescents, and to promote diversity in society. Please also provide information on measures taken to ensure that children of immigrants and ethnic minorities, including Roma and people of African descent, do not suffer discrimination in access to housing, employment, education and health care.

4.Please provide information on measures to protect children from road traffic accidents, drowning, falls and other accidents, including legislation, awareness-raising on the importance of car seats and safety belts in cars and school buses, fencing and and/or other protective measures.

5.Noting the adoption of Decree Law Nos. 38/2004 and 3/2008 on special educational needs for children with disabilities, please provide information on measures taken to implement inclusive education for children with disabilities, including updated information on the provisions of human, technical and financial resources and support, as well as mainstreaming and accessibility. Please also provide information on children with disabilities in specialized centres and measures to ensure their protection from ill-treatment.

6.Please provide updated information on the number of teenage pregnancies and abortions, and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS as well as measures to provide sexual and reproductive health education, including methods of contraception and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. Please also provide information on access to health for children in disadvantaged situations, including children of migrants, whether documented or not, Roma children and others.

7.Please provide updated information on the Street Project which was developed to assist runaway children, including the number of children in street situations, the number of shelters and centres offering support for such children and the number of children in street situations benefitting from these shelters and centres.

8.Please provide information on the effectiveness of the law and measures to combat corporal punishment, such as research demonstrating a decline in the use of corporal punishment in child-rearing and a change in public attitudes towards corporal punishment. Please also provide updated information on the outcomes of the implementation of the Raise Your Hand against Smacking campaign launched in 2010, the programme on child maltreatment and corporal punishment, the National Social Emergency Line of the Institute of Social Security, and the Children and Young People Bullying Helpline.

9.Please provide updated information on violence against children, and in particular girls, including domestic violence and sexual violence. Please further provide information on assistance to child victims of domestic violence, including shelters, witness protection, access to medical care, especially in cases of sexual violence, and mental health counseling.

10.Please provide updated information on measures taken by the State party to combat child labour. Please also provide information on inspections by government authorities in those industries known for employing children, especially the agriculture, textile, footwear, construction and hotel industries. Please further provide updated information on assistance provided by the State party to victims of labour exploitation, including compensation, education, vocational training, witness protection and counseling.

11.Please clarify whether Decree Law No. 67/2004 guarantees the right of children whose foreign parents have no legal status in Portugal to enrol in schools and have access to health care, including children migrants and children of migrant workers who are undocumented or in an irregular situation.

Part II

In this section the Committee invites the State party to briefly (three pages maximum) update the information presented in its report with regard to:

(a)New bills or laws, and their respective regulations;

(b)New institutions (and their mandates) or institutional reforms;

(c)Recently introduced policies, programmes and action plans and their scope and financing;

(d)Recent ratifications of human rights instruments.

Part III

Data, statistics and other information, if available

1.Please provide, if available, updated statistical data (disaggregated by age, sex, ethnic origin, geographic location and socioeconomic status) for the period 2010, 2011 and 2012 on:

(a)The national budget and on the proportion of the budget allocated to the implementation of the rights of the child at the national, regional and local levels;

(b)Reported cases of child abductions, the number of children recovered and the number of conviction of perpetrators for child abductions;

(c)Reported cases of abuse and violence against children, including all forms of corporal punishment and domestic violence, with additional information on the type of assistance given to child victims and the follow-up provided, including prosecution of the perpetrators and the sentences handed down in the State party;

(d)The number and types of cases of child abuse and neglect, including sexual abuse, reported to government authorities and by whom (e.g., family members, teachers, doctors, nurses), the types of interventions required, the disposition of the cases, including court decisions or other types of follow-up, and assistance provided, including counseling.

2.Please provide data on the budgetary cuts undertaken as part of the austerity measures, in particular in the areas of health, education and social welfare that affect children.

3.Please provide concrete statistical data on the effects of the financial crisis on poverty and budget cuts affecting the protection of children.

4.Please provide data (disaggregated by age, sex, socioeconomic background, ethnic origin and geographical location) regarding the situation of children deprived of a family environment and separated from their parents, for the last three years, on the number of children:

(a)Separated from their parents;

(b)Living in child-headed households;

(c)Placed in institutions;

(d)Placed with foster families;

(e)Adopted domestically or through intercountry adoptions.

5.Please specify the number of children with disabilities disaggregated by age, sex, types of disabilities, ethnic origin and geographical location, for the last three years, regarding children:

(a)Living with their families;

(b)In institutions;

(c)Attending regular primary schools;

(d)Attending regular secondary school;

(e)Attending special schools;

(f)Out of school.

6.Please provide data on social protection measures, disaggregated by age, sex, socioeconomic background and ethnic group, and urban/rural areas), for the last three years, on:

(a)The number of children involved in child labour;

(b)The number of children working as domestic workers;

(c)The number of children involved in hazardous work.

7.Please provide information on the number of cases of child trafficking reported, the number of perpetrators arrested and prosecuted, the types of sentences handed down by the courts, and on assistance to victims, including shelters, witness protection, access to medical care, especially in cases of sexual violence, and mental health counseling.

8.In addition, the State party may list areas affecting children that it considers to be of priority with regard to the implementation of the Convention.