LGBTQ+ in State, Portugal

In Portugal selling and buying sex between adults are legal, but any professional or profit-seeking involvement by a third party in another person's prostitution is the crime of lenocínio (art. 169 of the Penal Code, six months to five years; one to eight years with violence, deception or abuse of vulnerability). Since a 1998 reform the offence no longer requires that the sex worker be exploited or in need. The Constitutional Court has repeatedly upheld it; a 2020 chamber ruling finding it unconstitutional was reversed by the plenary in January 2021. Paying for sex with a minor and knowingly using the services of a trafficking victim are crimes. There is no licensing system and no specific advertising offence. Source: Prostitution Laws (prostitutionlaws.org), https://prostitutionlaws.org/countries/portugal/, reviewed 2026-11-03, CC BY 4.0.