U.S. Department of State 2002 Trafficking in Persons Report - The Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic (Tier 2)

The Dominican Republic is primarily a source country for trafficked women and, less frequently, children. Women, mostly between the ages of 18 and 25, are trafficked for sexual exploitation to Spain, Holland, Argentina, Venezuela and Italy. Other destination countries include Switzerland, Germany, Greece, Belgium, Curacao, St. Maarten and Antigua. Both boys and girls are trafficked within the country, mainly to tourist areas for work in the sex trade. Haitian women and children reportedly are trafficked to the Dominican Republic to beg in the streets.

The Government of the Dominican Republic does not yet fully comply with minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The Penal Code prohibits trafficking for the purpose of prostitution, but it does not prohibit other severe forms of trafficking. There is also a migrant smuggling law that could be used to prosecute traffickers. However, the government does not actively investigate trafficking cases or prosecute traffickers. The penalties for trafficking are relatively lenient. The government does not have victim protection and assistance programs. Recognizing that victim protection is lacking and that many Dominican victims are found overseas, the government has begun to work with an international organization to aid women from the Dominican Republic who are found in trafficking situations abroad. The government also gave specialized training to Dominican consuls posted abroad on how to provide assistance to trafficking victims. The government's trafficking prevention efforts include programs to combat trafficking in children within the country and an information campaign to prevent the trafficking of women and children. The Secretariat of Women and CIPROM, an inter-institutional government committee, has begun working with an international organization on an information campaign to combat trafficking in women. Local NGOs run other anti-trafficking campaigns, which have included posters, pamphlets, a consular information booklet and a television spot advertising a trafficking victim hotline. In the last year, the Dominican Department of Labor, in collaboration with ILO/IPEC, initiated a Program to Eradicate the Worst Forms of Child Labor, which includes child prostitution as a targeted sector. As such, in February 2002, it began a pilot program in Boca Chica to work with children in the sex trade. The Dominican Secretariat of Labor coordinates the "National Committee of the Fight Against Child Labor," which consists of both government and NGO representatives.