The LGBTQ+ Community in Setúbal
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On 4 October 2025 Setúbal held its first-ever Pride march – 25 years after Lisbon’s inaugural march and the first in the district’s history. Organised by the non-partisan collective Qardume, the event drew 400–500 people and marked a turning point for LGBTQ+ visibility outside Portugal’s two largest cities.
Portugal’s legal framework
Portugal has undergone a profound transformation in LGBTQ+ rights since the fall of the Estado Novo dictatorship. Under the authoritarian regime (1933–1974), homosexuality was criminalised under “morality” provisions of the Penal Code, and LGBTQ+ people faced police surveillance, social ostracism and forced psychiatric treatment. The Carnation Revolution of 1974 began a slow process of liberalisation, though legal change took years to materialise. Key milestones: