Pimping is still a crime in Portugal, but four of the 13 judges of the Constitutional Court believe that “a man’s decision to engage in prostitution can represent the full expression of his sexual freedom.” According to advances, on Tuesday the newspaper Publicthese judges argue that it is unconstitutional to punish those who voluntarily engage in prostitution with prison.
While until 1998 it was only a crime if it was proven that the prostitute exploited situations of abandonment or economic hardship of those involved in prostitution, the law now punishes pimps who engage in this type of business, regardless of whether what are they doing. voluntarily or not.
In accordance with Publica change to the law on pimping was considered during the trial of an alternative bar in the municipality of Valpazos, which was the target of an SEF raid in 2016. The women who worked in this bar told the Vila Real court that they earned a commission for the consumption that customers did in the bar, and when they sold prostitution services, out of the 40 euros they charged, they gave 10 euros to the couple who ran home.
Thus, the judge who heard the case declined to convict the couple and referred to the position advocated by the former President of the Constitutional Court, who argued that “an accusation in itself can represent a perverse attack on the dignity or autonomy of people who, as adults, enlightened and free, should be able to lead their lives both under the shadow of “virtue” and under “sin”,” defended the lawyer quoted by Public.
Recall that in 2021, the judges of the Constitutional Court decided to uphold the crime of lenocide. Now the rapporteur of the decision in this case clarifies that several of the judges who ruled in favor of punishing pimping in 2021 are no longer members of the TC, and since the judges are not required to follow the understanding of the TC, these four councilors can vote against the decision of the plenary in 2021.