Portugal

Although Portugal is classified as a high income country, a significant percentage of its population lives in poverty. With poverty defined as those income below 60% of the national median, statistics show that 22% of the population live below the poverty line. This means that approximately 1 out of every 4 people live in poverty. Among the poor, 40% have reported themselves to have bad or very bad health, meaning that there can be a significantly greater population who have bad health but just don’t know it. Part of what contributes to ill health, is that the rural poor have low geographical access to health services, because they have a lack of health staff mobility. Furthermore, 86% of people living under the poverty line reported that they cannot afford a week’s holiday away, meaning that any extra income they earn is of substantial importance to them. This helps explain why almost 2 out of every 3 women work in order to assist with their family income. Of the women working, 85% have a full-time job, which accounts for why many women regarded their working hours as “major barrier to spending more time with their children.”

Out of Paraguay’s poverty population, single parents, children, the unemployed, the elderly, and immigrants accounted for 98% of the poor. 24.3% of all children live in poverty. For this reason, 53% of children begin working before the age of 14, which later explains why the education level is significantly lower.

Among the human rights issues that Portugal faced, violence against women, poor prison conditions as well as abuse by police were the main problems. Within a 9 month period, 10,041 cases of violence were reported to the Association for Victim Support (APAV). Out of the 10,041 cases, 83% were domestic violence incidences-- meaning that approximately 8,334 incidences of domestic violence occurred in a 9 month period. More cases of domestic violence were reported in comparison to last year. Although it seems that more women are gathering the courage to file the cases, it is clear that there has been way more than 8,334 cases of domestic violence, as surely many women did not report their incidences of abuse.

Overcrowding, inadequate facilities, poor health conditions, and violence amongst inmates were some of the many problems troubling Portugal prisons. Just last year, 55 people died in prisons within a 6 month period. Of the 55 who died, 1/3 were in preventive detention, meaning that they were being held in prisons prior to trial and may not have even been guilty of the crime they were accused of.

Furthermore, the mistreatment of detainees and unnecessary use of force by the police, was another problem faced by prisoners. In 2004, 276 complaints of human rights abuses were reported; most of them against the Public Security Police (PSP) and the Republican National Guard (GNR). The security forces were accused of threatening and causing injury with firearms, excessive use of force, illegal detention and abuse of power. It is suspected that the major problems arose because of understaffing, insufficient training with firearms, and inconsistent or weak law enforcement.

In recent years, Portugal has experienced a high rate of new cases of infection, having the highest HIV incidence rate in Western Europe. Because Portugal did not report HIV asymptomatic cases prior to 2000, analysis of how HIV was acquired is difficult. Of the HIV cases with a known source of transmission, about 50% were infected throough injecting drug use, 33% through heterosexual contact, and 12% through men having sex with men. Although statistics show that the prevalence rate is at 0.4%, it is highly suspected that actual rates are much higher than that, especially amongst the younger population. Furthermore the link between disease and poverty is well established, showing that the poor are the worst affected. There could be many reasons for this but among the main reasons, is human trafficking.

Although the law prohibits trafficking in persons, there were many reports that people were trafficked to, from, or within the country. Portugal is a destination for men and women trafficked from Ukraine, Moldova, Russia, Romania, and Brazil for the main purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Once trafficked, it is difficult for the victims to use protective sex, as family members who remained in their country of origin were threatened if the victim refused to comply with the trafficker’s demands.

One of the main environmental issues that Portugal faces is the threat to biodiversity. Over the last 200 years, human population growth has resulted in the overexploitation of natural resources and environmental degradation. The destruction of rural habitats are due to the construction of motorways, dams, and urban centers, as well as modern agricultural practices and destructive actions by human beings. This has severely affected global diversity, as 42% of the vertebrate species in Portugal have become endangered. These animals include the Iberian lynx, the monk seal, the black vulture, and many freshwater and migratory fish. As already seen, human’s actions have greatly affected biodiversity, as 19 known species have already gone extinct in Portugal, meaning that this could a much lower number than the actual amount since not all species are known.

Although 9 years of compulsory and free education was provided for children through the age of 15, a large proportion, 45%, dropped out before completing high school. This is no surprise, however, considering the poverty level of people living in Portugal. Since the majority of children have to start working before age 14, it is most likely very difficult for them to find time to juggle their studies and work to help support their family.

Other factors that contribute to the high drop out rate is the low efficiency of the educational system as well as a lack of emphasis on higher education. The way school principals are selected and trained results in a lack of leadership in schools. It was found that teachers often lack the incentives and information to feel motivated to teach effectively. Better systems of evaluating teachers, school principals, children, and parents are needed in order to improve the effectiveness of education. Furthermore, parents need to better emphasize the importance of education to their children. The relatively low value of school in society contributed to why education was not highly valued in the labor market. Uneducated and poor parents most likely did not fully appreciate the potential long-term benefits of more education. All things considered, the country’s 6.7% illiteracy rate can be easily eliminated with a little more efficiency and better societal emphasis in the educational sector.

Amigos do Mar (Friends of the Sea) is a non-governmental organization concerned with the protection of sea fauna. The objective is to monitor and protect marine animals, while providing special care necessary to help them thrive in their environment. They believe that educating the youth is of the utmost importance of protecting marine life.

Associacao ILGA is an non-governmental organization involved in improving the quality of life of gay, lesbian, and transgendered people in Portugal. They have developed activities to alter preconceptions about homosexuality and to fight against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Currently they are promoting equality in the access to civil marriage.

Association for Treatment Addiction is a nonprofit organization that gives support to addicts. They help people with any type of addiction, including alcohol, medications, illegal drugs, and also those suffering from compulsive behavior such as gambling and eating disorders. They help people receive proper treatment and give them the emotional and social support necessary to escape addictive behavior.

Equipa D’Africa is a Catholic and Christian youth volunteer group. Young people volunteer to go on missions that last for a month or two to Mozambique, Africa to help and teach health centers. In collaboration with the Catholic Church of Mozambique, they seek to improve the social conditions of the local population.

Federacion SOS Racismo (Open Society Justice Initiative) is an anti-racial discrimination organization. The aim is to fight all racial and ethnic discrimination to make a more tolerant and rational world. In order to achieve their goal, they have a 4 step intervention: 1. Provide educational material to schools. 2. Provide legal support regarding discrimination situations and providing informative material. 3. Launch campaigns against acts of racial segregation. 4. Providing a vocational orientation center for ethnic minority youths.

Medicos do Mundo, Portugal (Doctors of the World) is one of 12 delegations concerned with providing humanitarian aid where necessary. Their work has proven to be very effective, as they intend to provide access to healthcare for all, regardless of people’s nationality, religion, ideology or race. In 2003, Medicos do Mundo was the first organization to provide HIV tests on the island of Sao Tome.

Oficinas do Convento is a cultural organization that promotes artistic creation while preserving one’s cultural and natural heritage. The organization is currently based on the preservation and recovery of a XVI covenant. They support artists materially and through exhibitions and concerts.

Sentidos e Sesacoes (Directions and Sensations) is an association that promotes sexual and reproductive health education. Its main goal is to fulfill the need for training and communication regarding sex education. They offer services to support schools and teachers that implement sex education, to make sure that it is being taught correctly.

Soljovens is an international organization that organizes youth exchanges all over Europe and the world. By allowing young people between the ages 15-25, to establish contacts with other countries, they wish to build a better community based understanding on other people’s values and culture. Soljovens wishes to occupy young people’s time in a positive way.

Information Currently Unavailable