Law No. 95/88, 17 August 1988
Annual Review of Population Law 15: 155-156
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0364-3417 PMID: 12289255 Document Number: 380139
This Law establishes the right to form and participate in women's associations in Portugal. Such associations are defined as nonprofit organizations having as their goals the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and the promotion of equality between men and women. There are three categories of associations: the national, regional, and local. The national associations are granted the right to participate in the definition of comprehensive legislative policies affecting the rights of women and have the right to be represented in the advisory council of the Commission on Women's Conditions and other advisory bodies of governmental agencies responsible for the definition of policies that may affect the condition of women. The associations also have the right to information relevant for the monitoring of 1) possible discriminatory practices in the work place; 2) the enforcement of legislation pertaining to maternity and paternity rights; 3) the broadcast or printed characterizations of women in a manner that may imply their inferiority to men or attribute to them the exclusive role of housewives; and 4) violent practices against women. They are authorized to propose initiatives through legal officers for the prevention or cessation of public acts or omissions that violate the rights of women and to submit claims in defense of the rights of women. The Law gives the State the right through the associations, the Commission, and other local bodies to collaborate on the promotion and realization of activities that raise the consciousness of women about discriminatory conditions to which they are subject and to direct intervention for the eradication of such discrimination. The Law also provides that educational activities are to be oriented towards sensitizing youth about the principles of equality and nondiscrimination, in order to promote a change in attitude with respect to the place of women and family and social life.