UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 45) In 2011, all Ministries approved gender equality plans to integrate a gender perspective in their activities. In 2013, legislation was approved requiring local authorities to adopt municipal equality plans. By the end of that year, 49 such plans had been approved (including, for instance, the creation of shelters domestic violence victims), 112 Protocols had been signed with local authorities and 105 local equality advisors had been appointed. In 2012, the Council of Ministers decided that public companies should adopt, implement and evaluate equality plans. The Council of Ministers also recommended that private companies do likewise.

UN Compilation:
Para 24) In 2011, in the framework of follow-up to its concluding observations, CEDAW requested information on the implementation of an earlier recommendation concerning the application of gender-mainstreaming procedures with regard to all laws, regulations and programmes in all ministries and the institutionalization of equality advisers in all local municipalities.

National Report:
Para 18) (b) Adoption of a National Equality and Non-Discrimination Strategy “Portugal + Equal” – Aligned with the 2030 Agenda, it emphasises the multidimensional nature of disadvantage stemming from the intersection of various discrimination factors, such as sex with race and national or ethnic origin. It comprises three Action Plans on: (i) equality between women and men; (ii) preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, including female genital mutilation; …
Para 66) IEFP seeks to address the needs and characteristics of some vulnerable groups, including victims of domestic violence and refugees, by defining specific methodologies and procedures to help their professional integration.
Para 76) … Portugal negotiated new funding from EEA Grants that secured 7M€ for projects to promote WLB and prevent and fight VAWDV until 2024.
Para 81) ENIND/ VAWDV action plan, together with the National Support Network for DV Victims are core instruments in preventing and combating VAWDV. The new action plan focuses on six strategic goals: 1) eradicate social tolerance towards VAWDV, raise awareness and promote a culture of non-violence, HR, equality and non-discrimination; 2) support and protect by expanding and consolidating intervention; 3) intervention with perpetrators, promoting a culture of accountability; 4) train professionals and services; 5) investigate, monitor and evaluate public policies; 6) prevent and combat harmful traditional practices, in particular FGM and early, forced and child marriages.
Para 82) Portuguese law provides a complete and comprehensive legal framework on the investigation and prosecution of the crime of DV. Article 152 of CC, which defines the crime of DV, was recently amended by Law 44/2018, adding a new aggravating circumstance: the dissemination, on the Internet or by any other means of public dissemination, of personal data, namely image or sound, regarding the privacy of one of the victims without his/her consent. In this case, the penalty is increased.
Para 83) All governmental areas must make specific yearly budget allocations for VAWDV prevention and fight, which increased 67% between 2017 and 2019.
Para 84) Following the CoE’s Group of Experts on Action against VAWDV evaluation in January 2019, Portugal is preparing legislative measures to implement GREVIO’s recommendations.
Para 85) Collection of DV data is foreseen by Law 129/2015, which created a DV Database under the responsibility of the Secretariat General of MAI.
Para 86) Each year, MAI produces a report on DV cases, based on information from the Police, with sex disaggregated data. A standard notification and a risk assessment tool are applied all over the country since November 2014, which allows for the collection of more accurate and detailed statistics. Data is available on MAI’s website. Official justice statistics are collected by the Ministry of Justice (MJ) and are available online.
Para 87) Situations of homicide in the context of DV are subject to a retrospective analysis directed at implementing new preventive methodologies and due procedures.
Para 88) The new VAWDV action plan aims to improve statistics and knowledge on the issue through the creation of sectorial statistical indicators, a survey on gender-based violence and promotion of evaluation studies.
Para 89) Effective access to complaint mechanisms is reinforced by Law 112/2009, which establishes the RNAVVD, composed by the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality, the Social Security Institute, shelters, victim’s support services, other public administration bodies and a national helpline.
Para 90) Law 104/2009 foresees the right of victims of DV to have effective access to compensation mechanisms and allows for the advanced payment of the total compensation amount when the victim of DV is in a situation of financial hardship.
Para 91) Victims’ rights have been enhanced, with the new Victim’s Statute (see chapter B) and the elimination of legal costs for victims of DV and of FGM.
Para 92) 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 as a result of that crime.
Para 93) Reporting cases is encouraged in various ways. DV is a public crime; therefore, a number of public entities are competent for receiving complaints, in person or online. GNR and PSP have special rooms for victims support services (SAV; 447 in total). New police stations and the ones that will be subject to structural intervention will have SAV.
Para 94) Several campaigns to disseminate CIG helpline and RNAVVD services are carried out every year and a mobile application was launched (see below).
Para 95) After placing a formal complaint, victims are granted a status of special vulnerability and DV victim and are entitled to support measures.
Para 96) The RNAVVD foresees support centres and short and long-term shelters, according to the different levels of risk assessment, and present various types of interventions to victims and their children.
Para 97) Portugal has 40 shelters for women and minors, including one for men with 6 vacancies, shelters for disabled women and women with mental illnesses (totalling 17 vacancies). There are 26 emergency centres for women including 1 for men and 1 for LGBTI people.
Para 98) There are 122 support centres, including for women victims of sexual violence, for men victims of DV and sexual abuse, and LGBTI people.
Para 99) Since 2016, the Government is reinforcing the RNAVVD namely through partnerships with municipalities, local authorities and NGOs, to ensure nationwide coverage and suitability of the network according to territorial specificities. New regulations were adopted in 2018 concerning RNAVVD’s organisation and functioning in terms of counselling, emergency housing and shelters for DV victims.
Para 100) CIG developed a “Resource Guide” and launched, in 2017, the AppVD mobile application, which provides information on all the support services available, ways to file a complaint or to request information.
Para 101) Regarding NHS, Order 5655/2017 reinforced the integrated intervention model of interpersonal violence throughout the lifecycle and teams for adult violence prevention mechanisms and clarified some of their functioning issues.
Para 102) To reinforce training of relevant professionals, namely in the justice (prosecutors, judges, lawyers, court clerks), security forces and health areas (medical doctors, nurses, administrative staff), CIG established protocols to provide more adequate training opportunities.
Para 103) Law 72/2015 and Law 96/2017 (see chapter B) consider DV as a crime of priority prevention and investigation. 104. In 2018, the Prosecutor General established a WG on DV to outline its DV strategy, including the adoption of best practices and the standardisation of procedures in criminal courts, and in family and children’s courts.
Para 105) Investigation and prosecution of DV victims has been increasing, as well as the number of persons convicted for this crime in first instance criminal courts: from 1.661 in 2014 to 1.909 in 2017125 .
Para 106) Under the EEA Grants, a study will be initiated in 2019 to assess the efficacy of measures applied to perpetrators and identify needs for improvement.
Para 107) 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.
Para 108) Victims in economic hardship can benefit from the Social Integration Income; DV victims’ requests are subject to priority analysis.
Para 109) A Best Practices Guide for Business on the Prevention and Combat of Domestic Gender Violence was launched in 2016. Several workshops and conferences on prevention and combat to DV and its costs in the private sector targeted at companies, business associations, trade unions and other private sector actors have been organised.
Para 126) Under the 5th National Plan against DV, security forces organised awareness raising and counselling programs for older persons as potential victims of crime, namely on preventing fraud and other types of crimes, with a special focus on women that are particularly vulnerable, such as those living in rural areas. ENIND foresees a specific goal on promoting the empowerment of women and men in situations of social and economic vulnerability, including the elderly, and projects to improve DV intervention with older women.
Para 169) The Centre for Judicial Studies provides training on HR to judges and public prosecutors on, inter alia, the jurisprudence of the European Court of HR, …, DV, FGM, …

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 28) EU-FRA noted that the Civil Code was amended to allow for the Public Prosecutor to consider imposing protection orders due to domestic violence, when initiating and deciding on parental responsibilities.

National Report:
Para 11) Within the Council of Europe framework, Portugal ratified the Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (2012) ...

Para 51) ... Protocols are being signed at the local level to enhance coordination between judicial, police, health and child protection authorities and improve the protection of children within the investigation of crimes of sexual abuse ...

Para 54) ... The Observatory on Trafficking in Human Beings also organised a conference on beggary and other forms of exploitation associated with children, and undertook awareness-raising initiatives on trafficking in women and children and sexual exploitation, via the Internet, radio and TV.

Para 55) ... Adequate premises for the examination of such victims are being created in police stations. Early-warning procedures have been put in place for disappearances of children under 14. Portuguese legislation has been amended to require the exhibition of one's criminal record by any person applying for a paid or unpaid job or activity involving regular contacts with children.

Para 56) Sex crimes against children and the protection of victims are addressed, inter alia, in the initial and ongoing training of public prosecutors and police officials, for instance within sessions on family law and children. Police authorities play an important role in combating such crimes and protecting victims, especially as members of plenary local protection commissions. The Police is also engaged in awareness-raising and prevention activities at the local level and intervenes in emergency situations, in particular in the context of addiction, begging, procurement of prostitution, trafficking in human beings and risk behaviour.

National Report:
Para 21) … Qatar population policy 2017–2021: This policy seeks to control the population growth rate, to reduce any demographic imbalance and to mitigate the possible effects of such an imbalance. One focus of the population policy is on women and children, the main objective being to support the involvement of women in society and to create conditions conducive to increasing their participation in the workforce, while maintaining family cohesion and ensuring a healthy environment for children.
Para 22) The State has proceeded with its policy to support and empower women through the Second National Development Strategy 2018–2022, part of the Qatar National Vision 2030. Chapter III of the Strategy envisages the Social Protection Strategy 2018–2022, which aims to achieve the following results: • The establishment of an integrated, effective and sustainable system of social protection; • Strong, cohesive and empowered Qatari families; • Increasing the scope and impact of social capital.
Para 23) Qatar has constantly monitored the progress of its family cohesion strategy 2011– 2016. Between 2011 and 2015, there was a decline in the percentage of unmarried women between the ages of 35 and 39, while statistics show that the divorce rate among Qataris decreased, from 19 cases per thousand in 2008 to 16 per thousand in 2015. Similarly, there was a decline in the number of cases of domestic violence in 2015 with respect to the preceding year, after the phenomenon had taken an upward trend in the years since 2008.
Para 24) National legislation that has been enacted in recent years reflects the concern of the State authorities to promote the rights of women, to eliminate discrimination between women and men, and to establish rules governing gender equality in a number of different fields. Laws use generic wording when stipulating rights or determining obligations, so that no distinction is made between men and women.
Para 25) Legislation regulating the labour market in Qatar follows the model of the Constitution in avoiding all discrimination between men and women. Laws do not envisage any negative discrimination against women and make no distinction between men and women in terms of salary or employment privileges. In fact, provision is made for positive discrimination such as in Act No. 15 of 2016 promulgating the Civil Service Human Resources Act and its implementing regulations, issued by Council of Ministers Decree No. 32 of 2016. It regulates public service in the country and includes a number of forms of positive discrimination whereby women have the right to: • The allowances and benefits of a married functionary, while her spouse will receive the allowances and benefits of an unmarried functionary, if her benefits are greater than his; • Paid leave if she has a child with a disability or a child suffering from a condition necessitating accompaniment by the mother; • Leave with full salary to accompany a sick child for treatment in a public or private hospital within the State; • Fully paid maternity leave; • Two hours per day for a period of two years, designated as “two hours for breastfeeding”; • Leave of 130 days in the case of the death of a spouse, which is the period of mourning prescribed by Islamic sharia for the death of a husband; such leave is not counted as part of other leave; • An accompanying family member if the woman has to travel on official business or to attend a training course; the costs of the companion are borne by the employer.
Para 26) The rate of participation in the workforce for individuals aged 15 years and over stands at 88.4 per cent. The results of a 2017 workforce sampling survey conducted by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics show that the number of participants in the workforce rose from 2,055,359 in 2016 to 2,056,923 in 2017, of whom males accounted for 86.5 per cent and females for 13.5 per cent. The data indicates that the economic participation rate of individuals aged 15 years and over stands at 88.4 and includes 96.1 per cent of males and 58.5 per cent of females. Also according to the data, persons aged between 25 and 34 had the highest rate of economic participation (94.5 per cent), while the economic dependency rate stood at 29.2 per cent for the same year.
Para 27) The Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs was brought into being pursuant to Amiri Decree No. 4 of 2016. The Ministry includes the Family Affairs Department, which is the competent authority for all matters pertaining to women and seeks to enhance the status and role of women in society and to maintain strong and cohesive families in which children are cared for and which abide by sound moral and religious values. The Family Affairs Department also helps to enact national strategies, plans and policies related to women, to provide social welfare and to develop and follow up on social development programmes, in coordination with the competent authorities.
Para 28) The Qatar Social Work Foundation was established in 2013 as a high-level institution with a unified management board that oversees and monitors entities within the State that are active in the area of social work. It formulates, develops and follows up on plans, programmes, policies and strategies aimed at furthering the objectives of civil society institutions, in cooperation and coordination with government ministries and agencies and with public and private entities at home and abroad. The Foundation includes the following: (1) the Social Protection and Rehabilitation Centre, (2) the Family Counselling Centre, (3) the Centre for the Care of Orphans, (4) the Centre for the Empowerment and Care of Older Persons, (5) the Shafallah Centre for Persons with Special Needs, (6) the Social Development Centre and (7) the “Best Buddies” Qatar initiative.
Para 29) The Qatar Social Work Foundation and its affiliated centres were involved in drafting the eight sectoral strategies that make up the Second National Development Strategy 2018–2022. The Foundation also oversees the development of plans for around 55 institutional and developmental projects being run by the centres in different areas. The projects – which focus on certain target groups in society – deal with critical issues such as disability, family guidance, combating violence and the care and empowerment of older persons and orphans.
Para 42) The State has continued to uphold women in positions of leadership and to support their involvement in public administration. This covers the exercise of political rights, including the right to vote and to stand for election to the Municipal Council, and is in line with international standards, particularly treaties regarding the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.
Para 43) Diagram 119 shows how the number of Qatari women in positions of leadership increased between 2008 and 2015. The rate of participation of Qatari women in the workforce remained stable at 36 per cent between 2012 and 2015 although significant progress was made in improving the balance between the work and life responsibilities of 13 women thanks to a revision of the 2009 Human Resources Act. The improved and more supportive working environment for women is partly due to the significant increase in the number of kindergartens and nurseries and the number of Qatari children enrolled therein; 71 per cent and 65 per cent respectively between 2011 and 2015.
Para 44) Under Amiri Decree No. 22 of 2017, four women were appointed to the Consultative Council, thereby reaffirming the importance the State ascribes to the involvement of women in the legislature and to upholding their rights as enshrined in the Constitution. In addition, a number of women have been enrolled into the judiciary and the Office of the Public Prosecutor.
Para 45) The number of Qatari women diplomats doubled to 90 in 2017, of whom 3 are ambassadors. A female spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was appointed in November 2017, becoming the first Qatari woman to be assigned to the position. With that appointment, the new spokesperson joins the group of Qatari women holding senior positions in the diplomatic and political spheres. In addition, under Prime Ministerial Decree No. 16 of 2016, a woman was appointed as Assistant Undersecretary for Administrative Affairs at the Ministry of Finance, while under Prime Ministerial Decree No. 21 of 2016, a woman was appointed as Assistant Undersecretary at the Ministry of Education. Under a further Prime Ministerial Decree, a woman was appointed as Assistant Undersecretary for the Development of Digital Society at the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
Para 46) According to official statistics, the representation of women in decision-making positions stands at 30 per cent. The Qatar National Vision 2030 and the 2017–2022 population policy aim to increase this percentage by boosting the political involvement of Qatari women.

UN Compilation:
Para 44) … UNESCO also signalled that the official data revealed that it was mainly men who occupied leadership positions in Qatar University. Similarly, almost no women held leadership positions in corporations and in government.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 11) Despite the overall low representation of women in decision-making positions and only one among the ministerial portfolios, the NHRC believed that the State of Qatar enabled women to serve as judges in previous years, which is considered a precedent among Gulf Arab states.