Prostitution in Portugal

In 1949, a harsh law dealing with sexually transmitted diseases came into effect, placing further restrictions on the registration of workers and forbidding the opening of any new houses.

An inquiry at the time estimated that there were 5,276 workers and 485 houses, and appeared confined to the major urban areas of Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra and Evora.

This was an abolitionist position ending the prior era of regulation, including regular medical checks on sex workers.

Prosecution was still possible under offences against public decency and morals, but this was infrequent, although regulation was in the hands of local authorities and enforcement was variable.

The Code was most recently amended in 2001,[8] specifically to deal with increasing concerns around child prostitution and human trafficking.

Article 170 (Lenocínio, Living off Immoral Earnings) of the Penal Code reads: 1 - Who, professionally or for profit, promotes, encourages or facilitates the practice by another person of prostitution or sexual acts of relief shall be punished with imprisonment from 6 months to 5 years.

2 - If the agent uses violence, serious threat, deception, fraud, abuse of authority resulting from a hierarchical relationship of dependence, economic or work, or takes advantage of mental incapacity of the victim or any other situation of particular vulnerability, they shall be punished with imprisonment of 1 to 8 years.

[4] Expensive and young prostitutes that advertise on the web and in the news stands can be easily found in the major cities and most crowded tourist resorts.

Both heterosexual and homosexual male prostitution also occurs in various settings, ranging from gay bars to discos and beach resorts.

[14] Like in other conservative countries where female premarital sex was frowned upon, it was a tradition in Portugal, before the 1970s, for a young man to initiate his sexual life with a prostitute,[15] sometimes with the father guiding that visit.

[18][19] Press sources suggest that half of the women engaged in prostitution in Portugal are foreigners, especially from Brazil and Eastern Europe (Ukraine, Russia, Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria), but also from Africa and some Asian countries.

Trafficking victims primarily originate from West Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Portugal is being used as a new route into the Schengen area by Sub-Saharan African criminal networks trafficking children for both sexual exploitation and forced labor.