Portugal | HCRW

Portugal regularly reports information on hate crimes to ODIHR. The Ministry of Justice and the Prosecutor's Office collect data on hate crime.

In 2018, the Ministry of Justice, ODIHR and the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights co-organized a workshop to improve hate crime recording and data collection, based on ODIHR's Information Against Hate Crimes Toolkit (INFAHCT). The workshop resulted in a set of recommendations for relevant state authorities.

Portugal has launched a series of action plans in recent years to combat discrimination, including a plan to combat racism (PNCRD 2021 - 2025), the National Strategy to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion, the National Strategy for Equality and Non-Discrimination (2018-2030), the National Implementation Plan of the Global Compact for Migration, the National Roma Communities Integration Strategy (2013-2022), and the National Programme on Holocaust Remembrance.

SELECT YEAR

Download the 2020 hate crime report for Portugal

OFFICIAL DATA REPORTED BY STATES

Year	Hate crimes recorded by police	Prosecuted	Sentenced
2023	344	5	3
2022	270	Not available	Not available
2021	150	5	3
2020	132	Not available	Not available
2019	82	-	-
2018	63	Not available	Not available
2017	48	Not available	Not available
2016	-	-	0
2015	Not available	Not available	Not available
2014	21	21	Not available
2013	Not available	Not available	Not available
2012	Not available	Not available	Not available
2011	Not available	Not available	Not available
2010	Not available	Not available	Not available
2009	2	0	0

About 2020 Data

Police-recorded figures refer to the crime of racial or religious discrimination only, and includes incidents of discrimination and incitement to hatred, which fall outside of the OSCE's definition of hate crime. The records on prosecuted and sentenced cases were not available at the time of the publication of ODIHR's 2020 Hate Crime Report.

Hate crime recorded by police

National developments

The new National Plan to Combat Racism and Discrimination 2021-2025 (Plano Nacional de Combate ao Racismo e à Discriminação 2021-2025 - Portugal contra o racismo), announced the revision of Article 240 of the Portuguese Criminal Code in light of the international binding instruments to which Portugal is a party. The revision is aimed at extending the list of protected grounds under the provision. The Ministry of Justice is working on a draft amendment.

Law no. 55/2020, of 27 August 2020, defining the objectives, priorities, and general criminal policy general guidelines for the years 2020-2022, establishes crimes motivated by racial, religious, or sexual discrimination as crimes of priority prevention, thus recognizing the vital importance of combatting hate crimes in Portugal. Moreover, acknowledging that the internet is the predominant vehicle of communication associated with hate crimes, cybercrime is also considered both a crime of priority prevention and investigation.

Notable case

In July 2020, the murderer of a black Portuguese actor shot dead in the middle of the day on a busy street in Lisbon was sentenced to 22 years and 9 months in prison for the crime of qualified murder, considering proven the motivation of racial hatred. The defendant will also have to pay 120,000 euros in compensation to the family of the victim. In the indictment, the prosecution charged the accused with aggravated murder "for vain reasons" and because it had been motivated by the victim's "colour and ethnic origin". The appeal was pending at the time of the publication of ODIHR's 2020 Hate Crime Report.

KEY OBSERVATION

ODIHR recognizes Portugal's efforts in reviewing its hate crime legislation. However, based on the available information, it observes that the law enforcement agencies of Portugal have not been recording the bias motivations behind hate crimes. In addition, ODIHR observes that Portugal would benefit from raising the awareness and building the capacity of criminal justice officials in relation to hate crimes.

ODIHR recalls that in the Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, participating States have committed to promptly investigating hate crimes and ensuring that the motives of those convicted of hate crimes are acknowledged. To that end, the law enforcement agencies must, first of all, record the bias motivations behind hate crimes. In the Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, participating States have also committed to introducing or further developing professional training and capacity-building activities for law-enforcement, prosecution and judicial officials dealing with hate crimes. ODIHR stands ready to support Portugal in meeting its relevant commitments through the provision of comprehensive resources and tailored assistance in the area of hate crime recording and data collection, as well as providing further resources and tailored capacity building assistance for police, prosecution, and judiciary.

Our methodology

In addition to incidents summarized below, this graph includes 1 hate incident reported by Kantor Center as statistics.

Racist and xenophobic hate crime

Date	Type of incident	Source	Description
2020-01	Violent attacks against people	Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV)	Show info
2020-07	Threats	Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV)	Show info
2020-09	Violent attacks against people	Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV)	Show info
2020-02	Violent attacks against people	OSCE Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights	Show info
2020-07	Violent attacks against people	OSCE Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights	Show info
2020-01	Threats	OSCE Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights	Show info
2020-08	Threats	OSCE Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights	Show info
2020-09	Attacks against property	OSCE Office for Democratic Institution and Human Rights	Show info

Anti-Semitic hate crime

Date	Type of incident	Source	Description
2020-10	Attacks against property	Kantor Center	Show info

Gender-based hate crime

Date	Type of incident	Source	Description
2020-08	Violent attacks against people	Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV)	Show info

Anti-LGBTI hate crime

Date	Type of incident	Source	Description
2020-07	Attacks against property	ILGA Portugal	Show info
2020-08	Threats	ILGA Portugal	Show info
2020-02	Attacks against property	ILGA Portugal	Show info
2020-02	Violent attacks against people	ILGA Portugal	Show info
2020-10	Violent attacks against people	ILGA Portugal	Show info
2020-07	Threats	ILGA Portugal	Show info
2020-09	Violent attacks against people	Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV)	Show info
2020-08	Violent attacks against people	ILGA Portugal	Show info
2020-02	Violent attacks against people	ILGA Portugal	Show info
2020-12	Threats	ILGA Portugal	Show info
2020-09	Threats	ILGA Portugal	Show info
2020-05	Threats	ILGA Portugal	Show info
2020-11	Threats	ILGA Portugal	Show info
2020-10	Threats	ILGA Portugal	Show info
2020-02	Violent attacks against people	ILGA Portugal	Show info
2020-05	Violent attacks against people	Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV)	Show info
2020-08	Violent attacks against people	Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV)	Show info

INTERNATIONAL REPORTS

Racist and xenophobic hate crime, Gender-based hate crime

The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe published relevant recommendations in her "Memorandum on combating racism and violence against women in Portugal."