| Country | Portugal |
|---|---|
| Optional protocol | on the involvement of children in armed conflict, on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography |
| Violence | The Committee recommends to increase the number of shelters for child victims of domestic violence, abuse and neglect |
| Safety | |
| Corporal punishment | Corporal Punishment is prohibited in all settings. |
| Overview of the child rights situation | Several problems in the implementation of the Convention lay on formal level, for example in missing data, missing legislations or not enough funding for the implementation of children’s rights, and not on a substantive level. |
| Situation of intersexual and transsexual children | The Committee urges the State party to end medically unnecessary surgeries and other procedures on intersex children before they are able to provide their informed consent. |
| Female genital mutilation and reproductive rights | In Portugal, there is a low level of awareness of child sexual abuse. |
| Discrimination | |
| Racism, children belonging to a minority and indigenous children | The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen measures to ensure that families with children, including families of the Roma community and of African descent, have access to adequate and affordable housing, including social housing, that provides physical safety, adequate space, protection against threats to health and structural hazards, including cold, damp, heat and pollution, and accessibility for children with disabilities, as well as access to safe drinking water, sanitation and electricity services. |
| Situation of children with disabilities | The Committee recommends to adopt a new comprehensive strategy for the inclusion of children with disabilities in all areas of life. It further recommends to train teachers and professionals, including in early childhood education. |
| Situation of asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children | Portugal agreed to receive five unaccompanied children from Afghanistan. The Committee recommends to ensure that migrants and asylum seekers under the age of 18 are not detained. The identification and registration of unaccompanied and separated children should be improved. |
| Education | |
| Free kindergarten | Yes |
| Free primary and secondary school | Yes |
| Digital possibilities | Low levels of reporting rates on online grooming are noted.<br /> The Committee recommends to develop regulations to protect the privacy of children in the digital environment and the media and to develop mechanisms to monitor and prosecute violations of the rights of the child in the digital environment. |
| Health | |
| physical health | The State party should enhance its efforts to effectively implement legislation guaranteeing free access to health care to every child. Therefore, the Committee recommends to increase the financial resources allocated to the health sector and to take measures to guarantee the assignment of a family doctor to every child. |
| Relation to other countries | |
| mental health | The Committee recommends to the State party to address the increased diagnosis of ADHD and other behavioural specificities, and the use of drug treatments for the children diagnosed. |
| Business sector | The Committee recommends to establish monitoring mechanisms for the investigation and redress of violations of children’s rights, with a view to improving accountability and transparency. |
| Situation of juvenile justice | Portugal should prohibit and abolish the use of solitary confinement to punish children. Existing custodial precautionary measures need to be reviewed to ensure that child detention is only used in exceptional circumstances. |
| Specific observations | The Committee recommends to set the minimum age for bullfighting at 18 years. |
| Additional Background | Concluding observations on the fifth and sixth periodic reports released on 9 December 2019. |
| Last Updated (date) | 2nd of March, 2022 |