Dominican Republic

Lack of Educational Opportunities, Prostitution, and Domestic Violence

Three main issues affecting the lives of women are lack of access to education, prostitution, and domestic violence. Women have been disproportionately absent from education and this problem can be traced to childhood. From a young age, girls are expected to help with household chores and this at times means they attend school sporadically or not at all; others become economically active as early as 10 to 14 years old. As a result, many women enter the informal economy, with no prospect of educational attainment and remain with limited financial independence throughout their lives. This situation is closely linked with prostitution, which has developed as a side activity linked to tourism. Prostitution is legal in the country and statistics suggest that the sex trade is not only an increasing activity within the country but the Dominican Republic is the fourth largest exporter of female sex workers in the world after Thailand, Brazil, and the Philippines. The country is a source for trafficked women and to a lesser extent for young girls. Domestic violence against women is also a major problem, particularly attacks of a sexual nature; police records show that on average there are 20 sexual attacks every 24 hours, most of which are against women and in 80 percent of cases are against children.

Legislation and support networks for Dominican women are insufficient and their physical integrity is not protected. Institutions have been created to deal with different issues, yet the lack of institutionalisation and the conflicting role of social institutions and culture perpetuate women's subordination. For example, the Catholic Church has successfully advocated against legalizing any form of abortion, which continues to put the lives of girls and women at risk. Nongovernmental organizations and women's groups play a fundamental role in advocating for social and political change.

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