Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Portugal are among the most advanced in the world, having improved substantially in the 21st century. After a long period of oppression during the Estado Novo, Portuguese society has become increasingly accepting of homosexuality,Mark Ellingham, John Fisher, Graham Kenyon: The rough guide to Portugal, Rough Guides, 2002, , p. 49. which was decriminalized in 1982, eight years after the Carnation Revolution. Portugal has wide-ranging anti-discrimination laws and is one of the few countries in the world to contain a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation in its Constitution. On 5 June 2010, the state became the eighth in the world to recognize same-sex marriage. 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. Same-sex couples have been permitted to adopt since 1 March 2016.
The country, while still influenced by Roman Catholicism, has progressively become more accepting of same-sex relationships and homosexuality. 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.
Legality of same-sex sexual activity During the period of the Portuguese Inquisition, female homosexual activity was not actively prosecuted due to a 1645 ruling; one of the few cases of prosecuting a woman (Maria Duran) for same-sex sexual activity came in 1741, but she was prosecuted for causing distress to her sexual partners, not for her activity. Same-sex sexual activity was first decriminalized in 1852, under Maria II and Ferdinand II of the Kingdom of Portugal, but it was made a crime again in 1886, under Luís I, and Portugal gradually became more oppressive of homosexuals until and throughout the dictatorship years. It was not until 1982 that same-sex sexual activity was decriminalized again, and the age of consent was equalized with heterosexual activity in 2007.
Recognition of same-sex relationships
Portugal has recognized unregistered cohabitation since 5 May 2001, and same-sex marriage since 5 June 2010. 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. Same-sex married couples are granted all of the rights of opposite-sex married couples. The Penal Code was amended in 2007 to equalize the age of consent and to criminalize domestic violence in same-sex relationships, thus equalizing treatment with opposite-sex couples.
Adoption and family planning
Since 2016, Portuguese law has allowed adoption of children by same-sex couples. Prior to that reform, same-sex couples were barred from adopting and informally forbidden from fostering children, although there had been several court rulings allowing children to live with same-sex families.
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, ordering the custody back to him and issuing a penalty for the country.
On 17 May 2013, Parliament rejected a bill allowing same-sex couples to adopt children, in a 104–77 vote. On the same day, Parliament approved a bill, in its first reading, allowing same-sex married couples to adopt their partner's children (i.e. stepchild adoption). However, that bill was rejected in its second reading on 14 March 2014, in a 107–112 vote. 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. On 22 January, Parliament rejected the proposals.
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. On 20 November 2015, five proposals regarding adoption rights were approved by Parliament in their first readings. The bills were then moved to the Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees Committee, where they were merged into one project and approved on 16 December 2015. On 18 December 2015, the bill was approved by Parliament. On 25 January 2016, one day after the presidential election, outgoing President Aníbal Cavaco Silva vetoed the adoption bill. The Left majority in Parliament announced their intention to override the veto. On 10 February 2016, the veto was overturned by Parliament. The President begrudgingly signed the bill into law on 19 February 2016. The law was published in the official journal on 29 February, and took effect the first day of the first month after its publication (i.e. 1 March 2016).
On 13 May 2016, Parliament adopted a bill to grant female same-sex couples access to medically assisted reproduction. It was signed into law by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on 7 June. The law was published in the official journal on 20 June and took effect the first day of the second month after publication (i.e. 1 August 2016).
Surrogacy was explicitly banned under a law adopted in 2006. In 2016, the Portuguese Parliament passed a law allowing gestational surrogacy under limited circumstances, such as when a woman is born without a uterus or has a serious illness that affects her uterus. Surrogacy, under any of its forms, is still illegal for same-sex couples.
Discrimination protections and hate crime laws In 2003, laws against discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment came into effect concerning three particular measures: access to work and employment, protection against discrimination in work and against sexual harassment. Since 2004, the Constitution of Portugal has prohibited any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation, making Portugal one of the only countries in the world to enshrine a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation in its Constitution. A new Penal Code came into force in 2007, strengthening the anti-discrimination legislation much further. The Penal Code contains several provisions that relate to sexual orientation in three aspects: recognition of same-sex relationships through protection in the same means as to different-sex relationships, such as against domestic violence and murder; equal age of consent between same-sex and opposite-sex relationships; and sexual orientation being considered an aggravating circumstance in homicide and hate crime cases. Article 13 of the Portuguese Constitution reads as follows:
In 2013, the Portuguese Parliament passed a law adding gender identity to the hate crimes provision in the Penal Code. On 19 January 2015, the Portuguese Parliament voted for the inclusion of gender identity as a protected ground of discrimination in the field of employment.ILGA-Europe
In 2015, the Portuguese Parliament unanimously approved a measure to formally adopt 17 May as the "National Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia". In doing so, the Parliament committed to "engage in fulfilling national and international commitments to combat homophobic and transphobic discrimination".
In 2020, ILGA Portugal recorded 41 cases of discrimination directed at LGBT people and 48 instances of hate crimes. In December 2020, the Court of Arbitration for Sport fined the Portuguese Football Federation €1,000 and ordered them to play four games behind closed doors (each game behind closed doors costing between €10,000 and €25,000) for homophobic insults hurled by fans during a match in October 2018. 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.
Transgender and intersex rights Discrimination against transgender and intersex people is illegal in Portugal.
In March 2011, President Aníbal Cavaco Silva ratified the new Law of Gender Identity (), which allows transgender persons to change their legal gender on birth certificates and other identity documents.
On 24 May 2016, the Left Bloc introduced a bill to allow legal gender change solely based on self-determination. Similar bills were introduced by the People–Animals–Nature party and the Costa Government in November 2016 and May 2017, respectively. They were merged into one measure by a parliamentary committee and subsequently approved by the Parliament on 13 April 2018. On 9 May, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa vetoed the bill. On 12 July, the Parliament adopted the bill with changes with regards to sex changes by minors aged 16 and 17, suggested by the President in his veto message. This time around, the President signed the bill on 31 July. It was published in the official journal on 7 August 2018 and took effect the following day.
The law (Act No. 38/2018) allows an adult person to change their legal gender without any requirements. Minors aged 16 and 17 are able to do so with parental consent and a psychological opinion, confirming that their decision has been taken freely and without any outside pressure. The law also prohibits both direct and indirect discrimination based on gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics, and bans non-consensual sex assignment treatment and surgical intervention on intersex children. By October 2018, a total of 274 people, including 21 minors, had used the new gender recognition law to change their legal gender. The law has been cited by the UN Human Rights Council as a model piece of legislation.
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. This includes using the student's preferred name, raising awareness, and training staff to handle discrimination cases and bullying.
On 20 March 2026, the Portuguese Assembly approved the first preliminary reading of three draft anti-trans bills by a vote of 151–79, with the right wing parties PSD, Chega, and CDS-PP voting in favor and all other parties in the assembly (PS, Liberal Initiative, LIVRE, PCP, the Left Bloc, PAN, and JPP) voting against it. The bills, which were introduced by the PSD, Chega, and CDS-PP parties, seek to repeal Act No. 38/2018, remove self-identification for trans people, force trans people to get medical diagnoses for name and gender changes, ban gender-affirming care for minors, re-legalize non-consensual surgery on intersex children, ban trans and nonbinary minors from changing their name or gender marker on official documents and ban the inclusion of "gender ideology" in school curricula.