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ABSTRACT
How can we explain that same-sex marriages have been approved in countries like Portugal (2010) and Spain (2005), where the majority of the population identifies with the catholic religion, when they are not recognised in countries with more liberal traditions? Assessing social, economic and legal changes this paper aims to explain the transformations on family, gender and public policies in Portugal in the context of the welfarestate. Two main lines of analysis are pursued.
First, changes in practices, attitudes and laws, such as the approval of gay marriage in Portugal (2010), are discussed and related to social, economic and institutional processes. The remarkable fall of catholic marriage in Portugal and the huge growth of children born out of the wedlock, just in one decade (2000–2010), are only some of the examples of these transformations.
Secondly, the development of social, family, care and gender equality policies are analysed in order to put the welfare pathway of change in perspective: from a late start in the 1970s and 1980s to the expanding coverage, highlighting welfare-state insufficiencies and limitations as well as, more recently, with ideological and financial pressures for retrenchment.
Bridges and troubled relations between social practises, values and public policies are also debated. Our research results are based in data from several sources, namely, European Social Survey (2004, 2006, 2008, 2010), Eurostat and National Statistics.
Notes
1. For southern European countries, European Social Survey (ESS) data present some comparability limitations because Italy does not participate in the ESS, since 2004, and a similar problem occurs with Greece for the ESS 3rd round (2006).
2. It is interesting to note that first marriages are really falling down considerably, since the crude rate includes all marriages and second or third marriages are still going up (Torres, Citation2010).
3. Taking into account all countries in the European Social Survey 2004, 52.9% of the total respondents reject this idea.
4. The way this question is phrased a woman should be prepared to cut down on paid work for sake of family's well-being can raise interpretation problems: value agreement or pragmatic reasons?
5. As defined by Karamessini, following Esping-Andersen Citation1999, familialistic welfare regimes may be identified when and where family plays a central role in welfare provision and ‘public policy assumes that households must carry the principal responsibility for their members’ welfare’ (Karamessini Citation2008: 44).
6. For a comprehensive discussion of many different typologies used in comparative welfare studies, see Arcanjo Citation2006.
7. To the point of leading some authors to question where to include the Portuguese case (Pedroso 2007). Other authors also note, besides important specific features in the labour market, less fragmentation in social protection along occupational lines and differences in social services coverage (Flaquer Citation2000).
8. From 1995 to 2011, only between 2002 and 2005 a centre-right coalition has been in power. The same parties returned to office in 2011.
9. Detailed discussions of different examples, can be found in Silva (Citation2012) for health reforms, in Silva and Pereira (Citation2012) for the unemployment scheme or Dornelas and Silva (Citation2012) for labour market regulation.
10. Executive decision of the Ministry of Education: Despacho 12591/2006, of 16 June. Available online here: http://legislacao.min-edu.pt/np4/145.
11. Law 7/2009, of 12 February, and a more specific decree law: DL 91/2009, of 9 April.
12. Law 32/2006, of 26 July.
13. Law 61/2008, of 31 October (free access online at www.dre.pt)
14. Law 23/2010, 30 August.
15. Law 7/2001, of 11 May.
16. Law 59/2007, of 4 September.
17. Law approved in parliament: Lei 9/2010, of 31 May (free access online at www.dre.pt).
18. Lei 7/2011, of 17 February. Already under a centre-right majority, this law was passed with votes from the parliamentary left (PS, PCP, BE), plus 7 votes and 10 abstentions from the right. The Constitutional amendment of 2004 (see text) was important, since the right-wing President of the Republic promulged the law invoking ‘constitutional imperatives’.
19. Article 4°, n°2 of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Anália Torres
Anália Torres, PhD in Sociology, is Full Professor of Sociology in ISCSP, School of Social and Political Sciences of the Technical University of Lisbon, Head of the Sociology Unit, researcher in CAPP (Centre for Administration & Public Policies) and founder in ISCSP of the CIEG (Centre of Interdisciplinary Gender Studies). She was President of ESA (European Sociological Association (2009–2011). She has been directing for long and within national and international research network research teams on family, gender, marriage, divorce, work and family, poverty, drug addition, youth and child protection system. She has 16 books published and more than 60 articles and chapters of books, some of them accessible in www.analiatorres.com. E-mail: [email protected]
Bernardo Coelho
Bernardo Coelho, Sociologist, researcher at CIES-IUL. He is also member of the CIEG (Interdisciplinary Centre for Gender Studies) executive committee. His current research interest are Sociology of family; gender social relations, intimate life and sexuality; sociology of financial markets. He Researcher of national and international research projects on these issues. Author and co-author of articles and chapters in books, published a book about prostitution (escort girls) in 2009. Currently he is preparing a PhD in sociology at ISCTE-IUL (Instituto Universitário de Lisboa) on escort girls and their customers. E-mail: [email protected]
Miguel Cabrita
Miguel Cabrita, Assistant at ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa and reseacher at CIES-IUL. His main areas of teaching and research are contemporary sociological theories, the welfare-state and public policies, and more specifically family and social policy. He has participated in research projects on these topics and has also been involved in the evaluation of public and social policies in Portugal and is currently doing PhD research about fertility decisions. E-mail: [email protected]