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Date: April 27, 2024 Sat
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dominican republic
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dominican republic
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36 total results foundAuthor: Amnesty International Title: 'Shut Up If You Don't Want To Be Killed!" Human Rights Violations by Police in the Dominican Republic Summary: Hundreds of people are shot and killed every year by police in the Dominican Republic. Members of the national police are responsible, on average, for 15 per cent of all homicides in the country. although the vast majority of these fatal shootings are described by the police as “exchanges of gunfire” with criminal suspects, the evidence suggests that in many cases the killings are unlawful. Widespread corruption within the national police force and aggressive policing methods have undermined public trust and exacerbated the public security crisis in a country where levels of violent crime have increased significantly in recent years. This report details numerous cases of human rights violations by police including unlawful shootings, torture and other ill-treatment, enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention. it analyses the difficulties faced by victims’ families and survivors in getting justice. The report also examines how weak oversight mechanisms have allowed human rights abuses by the police to persist and flourish. Details: London: Amnesty International, 2011. 70p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 5, 2011 at: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/AMR27/002/2011/en/6ead3e9d-0684-40ae-aa71-73c3dc5382dc/amr270022011en.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Dominican Republic Keywords: Homicides Shelf Number: 123234 |
Author: Blumenfeld, Leah H. Title: Trading Democracy for Security? The Effects of the International Drug War on the Quality of Democracy in the Dominican Republic, 1996 -2008 Summary: The purpose of the research is to study the relationship between international drug interdiction policies and domestic politics in fragile democracies, and to demonstrate how international drug control policies and the use of force fit the rhetoric of war, are legitimized by the principles of a just war, but may also cause collateral damage and negative unintended consequences. The method used is a case study of the Dominican Republic. The research has found that international drug control regimes, primarily led by the U.S. and narrowly focused on interdiction, have influenced an increasingly militarized approach to domestic law enforcement in the Dominican Republic. The collateral damage caused by militarized enforcement comes in the form of negative perceptions of citizen security, loss of respect for the rule of law and due process, and low levels of civil society development. The drug war has exposed the need for significant reform of the institutions charged with carrying out enforcement, the police force and the judicial system in particular. The dissertation concludes that the extent of drug trafficking in the Dominican Republic is beyond the scope of domestic reform efforts alone, but that the programs implemented do show some potential for future success. The dissertation also concludes that the framework of warfare is not the most appropriate for the international problems of drug traffic and abuse. A broader, multipronged approach should be considered by world policy makers in order to address all conditions that allow drugs to flourish without infringing upon democratic and civil rights in the process. Details: Miami: Florida International University, 2010. 244p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed July 2, 2012 at: http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1191&context=etd Year: 2010 Country: Dominican Republic Keywords: Drug Enforcement Shelf Number: 125439 |
Author: Binazzi Daniel, Alice Title: Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in Travel and Tourism in the Dominican Republic - An Anthropological Perspective Summary: The present study is part of a reflection of a wider field research work carried out in the Dominican Republic on exploitation phenomena of children and adolescents. This research is based on a three-month field work and on a retrospective ethnography of previously acquired local meanings. The formulated hypothesis was that the eventual existence of stereotypes and discriminations experienced in local society, could lead to the exploitation of children and adolescents. The objective of this study particularly focuses on identifying and interpreting local social norms and cultural flows, involving children and adolescents, which can contribute, together with other root-causes, to the creation of the pre-conditions for sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in prostitution and, in particular, in travel and tourism. Also, a deeper understanding of local cultural flows can strongly support and enhance aid effectiveness. This study has been carried out according to an anthropological approach that intends to go beyond the statistical investigation by sample method and provides an in-depth qualitative analysis. The qualitative analysis of the anthropological approach, through its ethnographic field work, often has the merit of contributing to integrate further quantitative research approaches. Details: Stockholm: Save the Children Sweden, 2011. 22p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 16, 2012 at: http://resourcecentre.savethechildren.se/content/library/documents/sexual-exploitation-children-and-adolescents-travel-and-tourism-dominican- Year: 2011 Country: Dominican Republic Keywords: Child Prostitution Shelf Number: 126709 |
Author: Verité Title: Research on Indicators of Forced Labor in the Supply Chain of Sugar in the Dominican Republic Summary: Verité carried out research on the presence of indicators of forced labor in the production of goods in seven countries from 2009 through 2011. Research was carried out on the production of shrimp in Bangladesh; Brazil-nuts, cattle, corn, and peanuts in Bolivia; sugar in the Dominican Republic; coffee in Guatemala; fish in Indonesia; rubber in Liberia; and tuna in the Philippines. The following report is based on research on the presence of indicators of forced labor in the Dominican sugar sector. This research was not intended to determine the existence or scale of forced labor in the countries and sectors under study, but rather to identify the presence of indicators of forced labor and factors that increased workers‘ vulnerability to labor exploitation. Objectives The primary objectives of the project were to: obtain background information on the Dominican Republic (place, people, product, policies, and programs); create a methodology to study the presence of indicators of forced labor in the Dominican sugar sector; identify and document indicators of forced labor among workers in the sugar sector of the Dominican Republic; document the broader working and living conditions that sugar sector workers experience; and determine the risk factors for vulnerability to forced labor and other forms of exploitation in the sugar sector. Details: Amherst, MA: Verité, 2012(?). 166p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 22, 2013 at: http://www.verite.org/sites/default/files/images/Research%20on%20Indicators%20of%20Forced%20Labor%20in%20the%20Dominican%20Republic%20Sugar%20Sector_9.18.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Dominican Republic Keywords: Forced Labor (Dominican Republic) Shelf Number: 128090 |
Author: Education Development Center, Inc. Title: USAID/Dominican Republic Cross-Sectoral At-Risk Youth Assessment Summary: The Report (a) analyzes the structure and characteristics of the youth cohort in the Dominican Republic (DR); (b) reviews the issues facing youth and the resources available to address them in four sectors – education, economic growth, health, and democracy and governance; (c) presents the results of 40 youth focus groups that were implemented by the assessment team as a way of articulating what youth themselves see as their needs, aspirations and challenges; (d) reviews a first generation of 9 youth projects that have been funded by USAID/DR; and (e) provides recommendations for a new generation of USAID/DR sponsored youth programming. Youth ages 10‐24 constitute just over 30 percent of the roughly ten million people who live in the Dominican Republic.1 Important stakeholders with whom the EDC assessment team met (youth themselves, the staffs of youth‐serving organizations, policy‐makers and community leaders across the country) agreed that a sizable percentage of Dominican youth are highly vulnerable and lack access to needed resources. In the education sector, such vulnerability is most acute in the 22,000 youth ages 10‐14 who are out of school, and the 25,000 youth ages 15‐19 and 44,000 youth ages 20‐24 who characterize themselves as being unable to read and write.2 Those who are in school participate in an educational system characterized by poor learning outcomes and high rates of repetition. In the economic growth sector, in 2008 youth ages 10‐24 represented a quarter of the total labor force in the DR and 43 percent of the total unemployed population. 3 Job creation for young people primarily takes place in the informal sector where wages are reported to be 44 percent lower than in the formal economy.4 Those youth seeking to start their own enterprises are faced with challenges in obtaining access to credit and micro‐finance. The vast majority of Dominican young people do not own assets and financial systems rarely make loans without collateral. In the health sector, reproductive and sexual health are the two priority issues for young people. Risky behaviors, such as multiple sex partners, unsafe sexual practices, and/or the use of drugs and alcohol play a significant role in the health profile of Dominican youth. There is a high incidence of teen pregnancy (26% in rural areas and 18% in urban areas), and a negative relationship has been observed between teenage pregnancy and education and socio‐economic status.5 Health service programs tend to be costly, not focused on the needs of young people, and located in areas that are not always easily accessible to youth. In the area of civic participation, youth face numerous challenges to participating fully and positively in society. At a fundamental level, many youth lack birth certificates or identity cards, often for reasons of poverty or their own parents’ lack of documentation. Not only do youth consequently lack official recognition as individuals, but they also are impeded in their access to services. This lack of connectivity to society may help to explain the growing participation of Dominican youth in gang related activity. Despite the formidable challenges facing youth in the DR the assessment team identified a variety of policies and programs that are making a difference in youths’ lives. The EDC team made a special effort to assess USAID/DR‐funded youth projects, interviewing staff and visiting field sites of programs such as the DREAM Project, Hay Poder en Aprender, Consorcio NINA and Aprendiendo Juntos, the La Romana—Bayahibe Tourism and Youth Training Project, Reinserción Escolar y Fomento a la Incorporación Productiva, the Habilidades para la Vida (Life Skills) Project, the Young Political Leaders Training Program, the Civic Action for Justice and Transparency, and the Batey Community Development Project. In addition, the EDC Team conducted a comprehensive review of the youth policies and programs of government, NGOs, and other donor agencies in each of the four sectors targeted by the assessment. Recommendations for future USAID/DR youth programming are provided at the conclusion of this Report. It is recommended that USAID/DR establish a single youth program that provides a social safety net for vulnerable out‐of‐school youth within targeted geographic areas. The core target population for this program would be youth ages 10‐13 who are out of school and youth 14‐17 who are out of school and unemployed. USAID/DR funding would help enable a single institution or a network of institutions to provide services that enable targeted youth to return to school, connect with economic opportunities, improve their health and well‐being, and engage more fully with their communities. Details: Newton, MA: Education Development Center, 2010. 96p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 22, 2013 at: http://www.equip123.net/docs/e3-DRAssessment.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Dominican Republic Keywords: At-Risk Youth (Dominican Republic) Shelf Number: 129130 |
Author: Bueno, Cruz Caridad Title: A Knife Hidden in Roses: Development and Gender Violence in the Dominican Republic Summary: On September 30, 2012, Jonathan Torres stabbed his wife, Miguelina Martinez, fifty-two times in a beauty salon in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Ms. Martinez, 33 years-old, went to the district attorney's office eighteen times in the two weeks prior to her murder to report that because of her husband's violent threats she left her home. He killed her because she no longer wanted to be with him; the knife he used was hidden in a bouquet of roses. This dissertation interrogates the state of development and gender violence in the Dominican Republic. The first chapter examines the implications of racial, gender, and class stratification on the economic and social opportunities of low-income women, predominantly of African descent, working in the export processing zones and as domestic workers. The second chapter explores the correlation between women's economic, political, and social characteristics and the incidence domestic violence using data from the Demographic and Health Survey. Further, I test which model - the household bargaining model (HBM) or the male backlash model (MBM) - best explains gender violence. I find that the HBM better predicts physical violence, while the MBM better predicts sexual violence. However, when I disaggregate asset-poor women and asset-rich women, I find that the HBM is more adept at explaining gender violence for asset-rich women and the MBM for asset-poor women The third chapter explores the role of women's and men's endogenous preferences on the justifications of gender violence. In both the female and male specifications, there is a positive correlation between men making more decisions and the justification of gender violence. Women that support gender equity are less likely to justify gender violence; while husbands that are less gender progressive are more likely to justify gender violence. Based on my findings, I conclude that the Dominican government's economic policies of the last thirty years are the knife hidden in the government' roses or rhetoric of human development and women's rights. To promote human development and foster women's rights, the Dominican government must embark on a new trajectory focused on human capital formation and a more equitable distribution of income, wealth, and power. Details: Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts - Amherst, 2013. 191p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed March 30, 2016 at: http://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1842&context=open_access_dissertations Year: 2013 Country: Dominican Republic Keywords: Domestic Violence Shelf Number: 138485 |
Author: Bobea, Lilian Title: Democratizing Violence: The Case of the Dominican Republic Summary: The state of democracy in the Dominican Republic cannot be analyzed exclusively according to how closely its institutional functions and procedures conform to classic ideals of representative democracy. Instead, the Dominican Republic can perhaps best be described as a "contested democracy" in acknowledgement of certain of its characteristics: informal forms of citizenship, conflicting governability, and precarious institutionalization. The quality of its democracy must be viewed in the context of its ability to offer basic civil guarantees, such as access to security and social justice. This paper focuses primarily on these factors, which determine actual governability in the Dominican Republic. An understanding of the challenges facing Dominican democracy requires an examination at the structural and policy levels. The issues to be considered include mechanisms for the resolution of conflicting interests among actors with asymmetrical access to power, as well as the resilience of nondemocratic institutional cultures within the police, political parties and other key institutions. Such conditions typically inhibit democracy but could be redirected to reach the "positive equilibrium" that John Bailey discusses elsewhere. Security and judicial policies tend to be directed from the top down, but an official attitude that recognizes and nurtures local initiatives and reforms that involve a variety of strategic stakeholders could be more effective. Similarly, the Dominican state must take greater efforts to identify positive role models at the local and national levels, starting by establishing a more responsible law enforcement system that guarantees fair sanctions against predators and compensation to the victims of criminal acts. These steps could have a dramatic impact on curbing violence, crime and injustice. The greatest challenge for the Dominican state, however, is to disrupt the growing nexus between criminal elements and political, economic and governmental actors. Details: Miami: Florida International University, Western Hemisphere Security Analysis Center, 2011. 57p. Source: Internet Resource: Western Hemisphere Security Analysis Center. Paper 34. Accessed October 6, 2016 at: http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1033&context=whemsac Year: 2011 Country: Dominican Republic Keywords: Crime Shelf Number: 140537 |
Author: International Justice Mission Title: Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the Dominican Republic Summary: Introduction: The commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) of women and girls in the Dominican Republic (DR) is a substantial problem. Understanding the current nature and scale of this phenomenon is critical to an effective response. An ILO study in 2003 reported that the total number of people in prostitution in the country was between 25,000 and 35,000, an estimated 60% of whom had entered the industry as minors. Other studies over the past 15 years have consistently reported high numbers of children being exploited in this industry; however, there has been no study in recent years measuring real time the prevalence of minors currently engaged in CSE in the DR. In late 2013, International Justice Mission (IJM) began working alongside the Dominican government in combating the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). This study, conducted in 2014, aimed to fill this research gap with a statistically significant measurement, as well as to provide a sound launching point from which to assess the effectiveness of joint interventions to address CSEC by the Dominican government and IJM in the coming years. Methodology After consultation with a variety of government and non-governmental stakeholders, IJM investigators conducted an initial mapping exercise of all locations where commercial sexual exploitation was consistently known to occur across 20 towns in the DR. In total, 233 establishments (bars, brothels, car washes, etc.) and 51 non-establishments (streets, beaches, parks, etc.) were mapped. Due to the nature of CSE in the DR, the study team integrated a traditional establishment-based method and a more innovative, street-based method which involved "catchment areas" around the randomly selected locations. Aiming for a statistically significant sample size, by the end of the study, data collectors had surveyed 206 randomly selected locations, including 150 establishments and 56 distinct non-establishments. Data collectors gathered both quantitative and qualitative information on the nature and prevalence of minors in commercial sexual exploitation, through direct observation and interactions with adults in the commercial sex industry, children in CSE, pimps and madams, and other intermediaries. Results: The prevalence of CSEC in the targeted areas of the Dominican Republic was 10.0%. Prevalence of CSEC was higher in parks, beaches, and street areas, where 23.9% - or nearly one in every four individuals - observed were under 18. In establishments, such as bars, clubs, and car washes, 5.8% - or one in twenty - of all commercial sex workers were under 18. A significant majority (92.8%) of these minors in CSE were Dominican. The overwhelming majority of minors found engaged in commercial sexual exploitation in the Dominican Republic were between the ages of 15 and 17. This study found very few minors below the age of 14 (0.6%). Overall, compared to the total number of sex workers observed, minors were observed more frequently in non-establishment locations. The majority of minor victims of commercial sexual exploitation observed in streets, parks, and beaches had no observable third party present with them at the time of data collection who was evidently profiting from their activities. An estimated 64.1% of the minors observed in CSE exhibited no observable indications of thirdparty exploitation. However, pimps, madams, and other intermediaries routinely offered to deliver minors from other locations. In 90% of places where minors could not be observed, investigators were 'promised' minors. In terms of establishment-based CSE, the majority takes place informally in bars, clubs, and known 'meeting places,' where clients can consistently find and make contact with adult CSWs and minors in CSE. Both those who exploit and sell minors for CSE and those who buy sex with minors engaged in CSE are perpetrators of crimes under Dominican law. The perpetrators observed selling children for CSE during this study were mostly opportunistic criminals, rather than organized criminal networks. The majority were Dominican. Furthermore, foreigners suspected to be sex customers were present in 23.3% of locations where commercial sex workers were present and in 25.9% of locations where minors in CSE were observed, indicating that the majority of CSE buyers are Dominican as well. The majority (70.5%) of the foreigners were observed in nine locations in the towns of Bavaro, Boca Chica, Cabarete, Juan Dolio, and Sosua. The overwhelming majority of foreigners observed were "white Americans" or "other whites." Police were present in 12.6% of locations surveyed in the study, and when present, they did not appear to make any efforts to enforce laws against CSEC, even though a reasonable observer could see minors engaging with adults. Research Recommendations: The scope of this study leaves room for further research. First, one lacking element surrounding the prevalence figures is a full spectrum understanding of the minors' circumstances leading up to and around their engagement in commercial sexual exploitation. Second, researchers should investigate whether the sexual exploitation of male children is occurring in the Dominican Republic and if so, should further research the scale and nature of that phenomenon, perhaps using a respondent driven sampling methodology. Third, exploring the circumstances of those minors engaged in commercial sexual exploitation with no observable third party was beyond the scope of this study. More in-depth qualitative research involving interviews with these minors would uncover more information about their situations, the nature and extent of third-party exploitation, and any non-observable psychologically manipulative tactics exerted by pimps, madams, and other intermediaries. All three of these are critical research gaps for both public justice system officials and other service providers in designing and implementing effective prevention, deterrence, and aftercare strategies and programs. The findings also highlighted parts of the phenomenon that went beyond the remit of this study. First, the results strongly suggest the existence of a robust hotel and cabana industry that provides rooms for adults to use to engage in sexual activity with minors. Interviews or further investigation with a variety of business owners, targeted particularly towards local, small hotels and cabanas, would help provide information to policymakers and those entities establishing regulations on the business and tourism sector about the connection and involvement of the hotel and bar industries in facilitation or provision of an enabling environment for commercial sexual exploitation. Second, the original scoping and stakeholder assessment indicated a higher number of Haitian girls engaged in CSEC in the Dominican Republic than what the data collectors observed in this study. Further research along the Haitian border would help resolve this discrepancy. Lastly, given the low percentage of foreigners present in places where CSE and CSEC were happening, additional research in the form of interviews of Dominican "johns" should be conducted to better understand the attitudes, motivations, perceptions, and common behaviors of men who buy sex from CSWs and in particular, with minors. Details: Washington, DC: International Justice Mission, 2015. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 21, 2019 at: https://www.ijm.org/documents/studies/IJM-Commercial-Sexual-Exploitation-of-Children-in-the-Dominican-Republic.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Dominican Republic Keywords: Child Sexual Abuse Shelf Number: 156565 |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: "I Felt Like the World Was Falling Down on Me": Adolescent Girls' Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the Dominican Republic Summary: Adolescent girls in the Dominican Republic are being denied their sexual and reproductive rights, including access to safe abortion. "I Felt Like the World Was Falling Down on Me" documents how authorities have stalled the rollout of a long-awaited sexuality education program, leaving hundreds of thousands of adolescent girls and boys without scientifically accurate information about their health. The country has the highest teen pregnancy rate in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). The country's total ban on abortion means an adolescent girl facing an unwanted pregnancy must continue that pregnancy against her wishes or obtain a clandestine abortion, often at great risk to her health and even her life. Human Rights Watch urges authorities to carry out a new plan for comprehensive sexuality education and decriminalize abortion to curb unwanted teen pregnancy and reduce unsafe abortion. Details: New York: Author, 2019. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 26, 2019 at: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/drd0619_web2.pdf Year: 2019 Country: Dominican Republic Keywords: Abortion Shelf Number: 156705 |