[1][2] After a long period of oppression during the Estado Novo, Portuguese society has become increasingly accepting of homosexuality,[3] which was decriminalized in 1982,[4] eight years after the Carnation Revolution.

[5][6][7] On 1 March 2011, a gender identity law, said to be one of the most advanced in the world, was passed to simplify the process of sex and name change for transgender people.

The 2019 Eurobarometer opinion survey showed that 74% of the Portuguese population supported same-sex marriage and that around 80% believed lesbian, gay and bisexual people should enjoy the same rights as heterosexuals.

Lisbon, Porto and Faro have visible LGBT scenes, with several gay bars, nightclubs and other venues, as well as their annual pride parades.

[13] Same-sex marriage was legalized under the second term of the Sócrates Socialist Government, and passed the Portuguese Parliament with the support of other left-wing parties.

In the past, Portugal had been forced to pay a fine due to homophobic statements from a court that ruled against a gay father's right for his daughter's custody.

The European Court of Human Rights received the case and ruled in favour of the father in 1999, demanding the custody back to him and issuing a penalty for the country.

[16] Other bills granting adoption rights to same-sex parents and carers, as well as in vitro fertilisation (IVF) for lesbian relationships, were introduced in Parliament by the opposition Socialist and Left Bloc parties on 16 January 2015.

[18] On 23 September 2015, parties from the Left majority in Parliament submitted bills to grant same-sex couples full adoption rights as well as access to IVF.

[14] Article 13 of the Portuguese Constitution reads as follows:[42] No one may be privileged, favoured, prejudiced, deprived of any right or exempted from any duty for reasons of ancestry, sex, race, language, territory of origin, religion, political or ideological beliefs, education, economic situation, social circumstances or sexual orientation.In 2013, the Portuguese Parliament passed a law adding gender identity to the hate crimes provision in the Penal Code.

[47] A survey from December 2020 showed that 79% of young people had witnessed incidents of anti-LGBT bullying and 86% thought that schools should better address LGBT topics.

[67] In July 2019, the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Manuel Heitor, issued recommendations for universities to amend the certificates of transgender people to properly reflect their gender identity.

Similarly, that same month, Education Minister Tiago Brandão Rodrigues published regulations for primary and secondary schools to facilitate transgender and intersex students.

[68] Portugal allows all citizens to serve openly in the Armed Forces regardless of sexual orientation, as the Constitution explicitly forbids any discrimination on that basis.

[70] In April 2016, Portugal's armed forces chief General Carlos Jerónimo resigned, days after being summoned to explain comments about gay soldiers made by the deputy head of the military college.

[72] A few days later, a total of 250 psychologists submitted an open letter to the regulatory Ordem dos Psicólogos demanding an investigation into these pseudoscientific practices.

[77] The motion was to finally be implemented by the Portuguese Institute of Blood and Transplantation (Instituto Português do Sangue e da Transplantação) in October 2015, and a six-month or one-year deferral period was to be enacted.

[80][81] In late September 2016, the new rules came into effect and allow gay and bisexual men to donate blood after one year of abstinence from sex.

[87][89] Portugal is frequently referred to as one of the world's most LGBT-friendly countries, with various groups and associations catering to LGBT people, supportive legislation and high societal acceptance.

Over the following years, LGBT individuals began to organize politically and slowly enter the public eye, raising awareness of their cause and movement.

Associação ILGA Portugal [pt] was founded in 1995, campaigning for increased legal rights for LGBT people, outlawing discrimination on account of sexual orientation and gender identity and changing societal perceptions.

Owing to their advocacy and work, anti-discrimination laws were expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity, article 13 of the Constitution of Portugal was similarly amended to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, transgender transition laws were relaxed and civil unions were opened to same-sex couples.

[100] The 2023 Eurobarometer found that 81% of Portuguese people thought same-sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe, and 73% agreed that "there is nothing wrong in a sexual relationship between two persons of the same sex".