Ewbank case: Portugal has a history of few convictions for racial discrimination

Although Portuguese law provides for punishments for the occurrence of racial discrimination, in practice, there are few convictions for cases similar to the children of actors Bruno Gagliasso and Giovanna Ewbank.

Last Saturday (30), the couple of actors were in a Portuguese restaurant when a white woman used phrases like “filthy blacks” for their children. Ewbank confronted the woman, who was eventually arrested but released after posting bail.

In Portugal, depending on the characteristics of the case, racial discrimination can be classified as a crime or as a misdemeanor, which is considered a milder offense.

It is considered a crime when it falls under article 240 of the Portuguese Penal Code, which involves incitement to hatred and violence. In such cases, there are penalties ranging from 6 months to 8 years in prison.

Most of the reported episodes, however, end up classified as a misdemeanor, with milder punishments. These cases are analyzed by the Commission for Equality and Against Racial Discrimination (CICDR).

In 2020, the last year for which information is available, the commission handed down only five convictions: four with payment of a fine and one with “admonition”, a kind of public warning.

According to the entity’s latest report, which is responsible for collecting all information regarding the practice of discriminatory acts and the application of the respective sanctions in Portugal, in the same year three such convictions were also reported in the sports field: two fines and one admonition.

A work prepared by the Combat project, from the Center for Social Studies (CES) of the University of Coimbra, indicates that about 80% of the cases brought by the Commission for Equality and Against Racial Discrimination end up shelved.

In the case involving Bruno Gagliasso and Giovanna Ewbank, the commission told the newspaper O Globo that it had already become aware of the case “and, from this point of view, we admit that we may be facing facts that could constitute illicit acts of a criminal nature whose competence lies with the Public Ministry”.

In the opinion of the leader of the NGO SOS Racismo José Falcão, the history of few punishments means that, in practical terms, racism is not truly criminalized in Portugal.

“The law is insufficient and there is no political will to change it”, says the activist, who says that the lack of willingness to adapt the legal framework against racism also affects Portuguese left-wing parties.

In 2016, on the 20th anniversary of the legislation, the organization released a book entitled “Racism and Discrimination: the Impunity Law” that compiles what it considers the legislation’s main problems.

According to Falcão, there is a strong structural racism rooted in Portugal, with few educational and training actions.

“There are difficulties in making complaints. When people go to the police, they often receive information that they will have to pay to go to court. It is an absurd situation”, he adds.

Despite the difficulties reported by activists, the number of complaints of ethnic and racial discrimination has been on an upward trajectory in the country.

In 2020, 655 complaints and reports were registered by the Commission to Combat Discrimination, which represents an increase of 50.2% compared to 2019 (436 complaints).

Almost half of the complaints (48.7%) refer to cases on the internet and social networks. When analyzing the content of the complaints, the factors “skin color” and “nationality” appear, respectively, in first and second place among the types of discrimination.

There are cases, however, in which the same complaint falls into the same category. According to the report, the combination with the highest incidence is “Brazilian nationality” and “black skin color”.