Human Trafficking in [Dominican Republic] [other countries]Street Children in [Dominican Republic] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Dominican Republic |
Child Prostitution The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of
Children In
the early years of the 21st Century
- 2000 to 2010 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 ***
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 *** 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] 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 Human Rights Reports » 2005 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61725.htm [accessed 2 February 2011] 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. 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, [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. 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. 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 ... All material used herein
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Human Trafficking in [Dominican Republic] [other countries]Street Children in [Dominican Republic] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Dominican Republic