Since the elections of 1991, a few small domestic groups have formed with various objectives, including the protection of human and civil rights. Traditionally, Sao Tome and Principe has had limited contact with international human rights groups, mainly due to its small population and the absence of allegations of human rights abuses. In a report published in 1993, Amnesty International named Sao Tome and Principe as one of three countries worldwide in which there were no serious government-sponsored violations of human rights. The Constitution states that all citizens, regardless of sex, race, social origin, political tendency, creed, or philosophic conviction, are equal under the law. The Constitution stipulates that women and men have equal rights to full political, economic, social, and cultural participation.
Women have access to opportunities in education, business, and government.
However, in practice women encounter substantial discrimination. In particular, traditional beliefs concerning the division of labor between men and women leave women with much of the hard labor in agriculture, most of the child-rearing responsibilities, and less access to education and the professions. In addition, the general lack of public services and health care serve to disadvantage women more than men in these traditional roles. Violence against women in Sao Tome and Principe is believed to be infrequent. However, there is no specific information available on domestic violence, including data on instances of wife-beating and rape, and the small media rarely cover cases.