Portuguese Journal of Social Science - Volume 20, Issue 1-2, 2021

Sex workers (SWs) based in Portugal are not (yet) organized in a trade union or as a social movement. However, they are not voiceless. This study aims to identify the needs of nineteen street-based female SWs, considering the rights they advocated. Data were gathered during participatory action research and were collected through informal interviews, in-depth semi-structured interviews and group discussions. We identified three major categories of rights: the right to work, to be protected by the law and to be free from violence. We also identified barriers they encountered in the process of being heard, including stigma. These findings suggest that they have opinions and the will to make a difference, but they claim from an individual standpoint. Some recommendations to social work practice, such as right-based and relationship-based approaches, and research with SWs are suggested to promote human rights and SWs’ participation in the public sphere.

Research on the health status and on socio-economic inequality in the health status of Portuguese adults with 50 years of age or more is scarce, but urgent, so that policy-makers can better understand the type of burdens that this ageing process will place on social welfare policies. We use data from the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe Wave 6 to investigate the role of gender, income and education in self-reported health status and in morbidity amongst adults aged 50+ in Portugal by means of a multivariate analysis. Results from this exploratory study reveal a negative self-perception of health status amongst older individuals; high prevalence of chronic diseases since an earlier age; high levels of depression problems reported by women; and high disability amongst the oldest old. The results also show a prevalence of chronic diseases, mental health problems, and high disability, which will challenge the Portuguese social welfare system in terms of long-term care and pensions, and will additionally require an adequate (re)organization of the healthcare supply to older adults. Furthermore, the evidence calls for a gendered perspective of health and social policy in Portugal, particularly concerning mental health.

In Portugal, as in other European countries, government policies have driven the modernization of doctoral education, in which collaboration with companies is one of its axes; however, this has been insufficiently studied at the national level. This study focuses on the role of public polices in promoting university–business collaboration by tracking higher education and science policies. The main public policy instruments are analysed, identifying objectives and narratives. The methodological strategy comprises documental analysis. The findings show public policies have played a role in facilitating collaboration of this nature throughout successive governments. These policy measures are justified by the urgency of endowing companies with more qualified staff, aimed at boosting the country’s economic development; from a more individual perspective, the need to ensure the employability of doctorate holders; or from a more institutional angle, the alignment of doctoral programmes with the business sector and an interconnection of cultures.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was established in November 1946. Portugal was formally admitted to UNESCO on 1 March 1965. Since its entry as a Member State, the Portuguese government has been confronted with successive resolutions of the General Assembly and the Executive Council of UNESCO, which strongly condemned its colonial policy. The establishment of diplomatic relations with the organization would only be possible after the democratization of the Portuguese regime and the effective resolution of the colonial issue. Once all necessary procedures have been adopted, Portugal returned to UNESCO in September 1974.