C S E C The Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children In the early years of the 21st Century, 2000 to
2025 gvnet.com/childprostitution/DominicanRepublic.htm
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CAUTION: The following links
and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the
situation in the HOW TO USE THIS WEBPAGE Students If you are looking for
material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on this
page and others to see which aspects of child prostitution are of particular
interest to you. You might be
interested in exploring how children got started, how they survive, and how
some succeed in leaving. Perhaps your
paper could focus on runaways and the abuse that led to their leaving. Other factors of interest might be poverty,
rejection, drug dependence, coercion, violence, addiction, hunger, neglect,
etc. On the other hand, you might
choose to write about the manipulative and dangerous adults who control this
activity. There is a lot to the
subject of Child Prostitution. Scan
other countries as well as this one.
Draw comparisons between activity in adjacent countries and/or
regions. Meanwhile, check out some of
the Term-Paper
resources that are available on-line. Teachers Check out some of
the Resources
for Teachers attached to this website. HELP for Victims International Organization for
Migration ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Study By Profamilia In The Associated Press
AP, November 29, 2003 www.walnet.org/csis/news/world_2002/ap-021129.html [accessed 8 May
2011] Profamilia and MAIS say many parents know their children are prostitutes, but in some cases the families encourage it to ease their crushing poverty. The country has been known for years as a sex tourism destination. "In some nightclubs one can find brochures with pictures of naked children and phone numbers for taxi drivers that will take them to child prostitutes," said Maria Josefina Paulino of MAIS. ***
ARCHIVES *** ECPAT Country
Monitoring Report [PDF] ECPAT International,
2006 www.ecpat.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Global_Monitoring_Report-DOMINICAN_REPUBLIC.pdf [accessed 27 August
2020] [SPANISH] Desk review of
existing information on the sexual exploitation of children (SEC) in the
Dominican Republic. The report looks at protection mechanisms, responses,
preventive measures, child and youth participation in fighting SEC, and makes
recommendations for action against SEC. Human
Rights Reports » 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, March 10, 2020 www.state.gov/reports/2019-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/dominican-republic/ [accessed 27 August
2020] SEXUAL
EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN - The law defines statutory rape as sexual relations
with anyone younger than age 18. NGOs noted that due to the law that allows marriage
with parental consent for girls as young as 15, some men arrange to marry
girls to avoid prosecution for statutory rape. Penalties for conviction of
statutory rape are 10 to 20 years in prison and a fine of 100,000 to 200,000
pesos ($2,000 to $4,000). Children were
exploited for commercial sex, particularly in coastal, tourist locations and
major urban areas. The government conducted programs to combat the sexual
exploitation of minors. 2018 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor Office of Child
Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking, Bureau of International Labor
Affairs, US Dept of Labor, 2019 www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ILAB/child_labor_reports/tda2018/ChildLaborReportBook.pdf [accessed 22 August
2020] Note:: Also check out this country’s report in the more recent edition DOL
Worst Forms of Child Labor [page 439] Children in the
Dominican Republic engage in commercial sexual exploitation, particularly in
coastal, tourist locations. The porous border between Haiti and the Dominican
Republic has allowed some Haitian children to be trafficked into the
Dominican Republic, where they have been engaged in commercial sexual
exploitation and forced to work in agriculture, domestic work, street
vending, or begging. (1-3,14,24,31,32) The Department of Labor’s 2004 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/dominican-republic.htm [accessed 2 February
2011] Note:: Also check out this country’s report in the more recent edition DOL
Worst Forms of Child Labor INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - The commercial sexual exploitation of children is
reported to be a problem in urban areas, as well as in tourist locations
throughout the country including Boca Chica, Puerto
Plata and Sosua. According to a study published by
UNICEF and the National Planning Office in 1999, 75 percent of minors
involved in prostitution were working in brothels, discos, restaurants, and
hotels. There are reports that women and children are trafficked to, from,
and within the Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child, 26 January 2001 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/dominicanrepublic2001.html [accessed 27
February 2011] [47] While noting the
creation of the National Inter-Agency Commission for the Prevention and
Eradication of Child Prostitution in Tourist Centers, the Committee expresses
its concern at the absence of data and of a comprehensive study on the issue
of sexual commercial exploitation and sexual abuse of children, as well as at
the lack of implementation of the National Plan of Action to address this
issue. In addition, the Committee expresses its deep concern at the increase
of the number of children in the State party suffering from sexual commercial
exploitation, apparently often related to sex tourism. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights International
Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, 12/12/1997 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/esc/dominica1997.html [accessed 19
September 2011] [22] With respect
to Article 10 of the Covenant, the Committee expresses its concern about the
situation of children in the Dominican Republic and, in particular, about
reports received on the occurrence of child labor and child exploitation,
including sexual exploitation, about the increasing number of street
children, the low rate of school enrolment, the high rate of infant mortality
and the high number of pregnancies among school-age females. International thugs
overrun Dominican Republic, Libre says Dominican Today, www.dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2008/8/8/28973/International-thugs-overrun-Dominican-Republic-Libre-says [accessed 8 May
2011] “A National
Statistic Office report in March revealed that from 2002 to 2005 more than
800 foreigners were prosecuted on drug charges, and there are also foreigners
in child prostitution and abuse are also frequent,” it said. Moreover, it cites
a Government Commission Against Child Abuse and Sexual Exploitation of 2003,
which found that 65 percent of the molestation cases in Boca Chica and Puerto Plata are committed by foreigners. “One
of the most scandalous cases in that type of crime was that of a group of
Spaniards arrested in 2006, charged with being part of a network of child
prostitution on the Internet. The group came to the country as simple
visitors and operated in tourist areas.” 30,000
Haitian children smuggled annually Nov 8, 2005 --
Source: english.peopledaily.com.cn/200511/08/eng20051108_219788.html [accessed 2 February
2011] Around 30,000
Haitian children are illegally smuggled into the Haitian Children
Sold as Slave Laborers and Prostitutes Gary Younge in At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 14
September 2011] On market day in Dajabón, a bustling Dominican town on the Haitian border,
you can pick up many bargains if you know where to look. You can haggle the price
of a live chicken down to 40 pesos (72p); wrestle 10lb of macaroni from 60 to
50 pesos; and, with some discreet inquiries, buy a Haitian child for the
equivalent of £54.22. There is a thriving trade in Haitian children in the Dominican Republic, where they are mostly used for domestic service, agricultural work or prostitution. - htcp Five Years After ECPAT: Fifth Report
on implementation of the Agenda for Action ECPAT International,
November 2001 www.no-trafficking.org/content/web/05reading_rooms/five_years_after_stockholm.pdf [accessed 13
September 2011] [B]
COUNTRY UPDATES – DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – The National Plan of Action in the
Dominican Republic has resulted in CSEC being included in the agendas of
state institutions and especially the Organismo
Rector del Sistema de Protección, the main state
body in charge of the protection of children.
The most important sign of progress in the Report
by Special Rapporteur [DOC] UN Economic and Social
Council Commission on Human Rights, Fifty-ninth session, 6 January 2003 www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/0/217511d4440fc9d6c1256cda003c3a00/$FILE/G0310090.doc [accessed 8 May
2011] [38] The sale,
trafficking and use of children in prostitution and pornography are criminal
offences for which the child victim bears no criminal liability, but may be
subject to detention for his or her protection. Particular
problems in the country include the situation of street children, commercial
sexual exploitation, domestic abuse and children in conflict with the
law. The National Plan to Guarantee the Rights of the Child and
Adolescent has placed particular emphasis on tackling these concerns. MAIS - Movimiento Para el Autodesarrollo
Internacional de la Solidaridad
de Puerto Plata Movement for
International Self-Development and Solidarity (MAIS), At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 8 May
2011] BACKGROUND - Movimiento Para el Autodesarrollo
Internacional de la Solidaridad
(MAIS) is a non-profit organization, founded in 1998 in ACTIVITIES - In this
reporting period, MAIS administered care to 68 children in high risk
situations (children who are out of school, or in school but doing poorly, victims
of sexual abuse or those who have experienced commercial sexual
exploitation); and dealt with 39 cases of sexual violence against children
and 6 cases of sexual exploitation of children of a commercial nature. MAIS
also facilitated 4 workshops for adolescents at high risk, children sexually
exploited in a commercial context, and young single mothers. Success Stories -
Elvia in the Movement for
International Self-Development and Solidarity (MAIS), At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 8 May
2011] Elvia, along with hundreds of other impoverished children in her community, must make a difficult choice between pursuing her education or earning a living in order to support herself. Sadly, with little incentive or encouragement to stay in poorly funded schools and few legitimate opportunities to earn money, girls such as Elvia are easily lured into Puerto Plata’s lucrative sex tourism industry. Crime
and Society - A Comparative Criminology Tour of the World Dr. Robert Winslow, www-rohan.sdsu.edu/faculty/rwinslow/namerica/dominican_republic.html [accessed 8 May
2011] CHILDREN - Sexual
exploitation of children is a problem. Some in the tourist industry have
facilitated the sexual exploitation of children; particular areas of concern
are Boca Chica and Puerto Plata. Tours are marketed
by foreigners overseas with the understanding that boys and girls can be
found as sex partners. Child Brothel
Owners Arrested Summarized from a TV
News Report, Univision Network, 2004-04-28 www.libertadlatina.org/Lat_Dominican_Republic_Child_Brothel_Owners_Arrested_04-28-2004.htm [accessed 8 May
2011] … arrest of a ring of child brothel owners in Committee
on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - Press Release UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child Press Release, 24 January 2001 www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/0/C8A148C41578B611C12569DF002EFAA6?opendocument [accessed 8 May
2011] Over the course of
the meeting, Committee members commented that child prostitution was a double
concern because of the involvement of children in prostitution and the
increase in cases of HIV/AIDS; while tourism was encouraged as a source of
income to the Protection Project
- Country Report [DOC] The www.protectionproject.org/human_rights_reports/report_documents/dominican.doc [accessed 2009] FORMS OF TRAFFICKING - The Situation Of Minors
In The Organization of
American States OAS Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, "Report
On The Situation Of Human Rights In The Dominican Republic", 7 October
1999 -- OEA/Ser.L/V/II.104, Doc. 49 rev. 1 www.cidh.org/countryrep/DominicanRep99/Chapter11.htm [accessed 8 May
2011] E. CHILD
PROSTITUTION - 425. In the
Dominican Republic, there is a considerable population of minors for whom the
streets have become home, who have faced a hostile world from an early
age. Most "street children" beg as a means of subsistence;
one-third turn to robbery and other means to get by, such as selling drugs;
and approximately one-fifth engage in prostitution. 427. UNICEF notes
that a total of 25,455 minors are employed as prostitutes, and that of that
total, 14,508 (57%) practice prostitution in the areas in which they had gone
to school. The study also indicates that two of every three minors who work
as prostitutes are females, and one in three is male. - sccp E/CN.4/1998/101,
para. 15 At one time this article
had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 8 May
2011] SALE
OF CHILDREN, CHILD PROSTITUTION, CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE - In the section
on sex tourism, the report refers to allegations that over 30,000 children in
the Dominican Republic work as prostitutes to escape poverty. Most of these
children no longer live with their parents because they have either been
thrown out or prefer to work on the streets to earn a living for themselves
or their families. Minors who engage in this trade are common in Treaties and
Reports to Treaty Bodies “For the Record
1997” Vol.4 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 8 May
2011] Concern was also
expressed over ... reports received on the occurrence of child labour and
child exploitation, including sexual exploitation; the increasing number of
street children; the low rate of school enrolment ... ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61725.htm [accessed 8 February
2020] TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS
- Within the country, the prostitution of minors, primarily in the tourist
areas, was a problem. An official 2003 study estimated that 50 to 60 Haitian
children were trafficked into the country each week and that many Haitian
girls age 12 and older were brought into the country to work as prostitutes. In April DNI
dismantled a child prostitution and pornography ring in Sosua
that had posted sexually explicit photos of young children on the Internet.
Police arrested two men. At the request of the attorney general, police
closed down several bars, nightclubs, and "massage parlors" in
Santiago, Santo Domingo, and Boca Chica used for
child prostitution and sexual exploitation of women. In May a judge
convicted and sentenced 3 men to 15 years in prison under the
anti-trafficking law for sexually exploiting 24 children in Boca Chica in 2004. As of October a fourth suspect was in
detention and awaiting trial. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
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