Women in the Dominican Republic face several gender-related challenges. Women are much more severely affected by unemployment than men, and their activities are more limited. There is frequent domestic violence, which seems to have increased in recent years. In rural areas, inequality is evident in that women have poor access to healthcare, education and bank loans.
Dominican women within the family are relatively well protected. The legal minimum age for marriage is 18 years for both men and women, but early marriage is relatively common. A 2004 United Nations report estimated that 29 per cent of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed. Pregnancy among young girls is a serious problem.
Polygamy is not commonly practised in the Dominican Republic.
Parental authority is exercised jointly by the father and mother.
Women’s inheritance rights improved with the passing (in 1998) of land reform law. They now have full rights to inherit land.
The Dominican Republic has made positive changes to relevant legislation, but the physical integrity of Dominican women is still not well protected. Violence against women is prevalent: up to one-third of women have suffered physical violence at the hands of their husbands or other men and half of the victims received no help. A law was passed in 1997 to combat domestic violence, but it has been slow to take effect. Amongst the obstacles identified is a resistance on the part of judges to take gender into account in their decisions. Lack of budgetary resources limits the opportunity to create rehabilitation centres or mechanisms for men who are guilty of violence, or safe facilities that offer shelter and care to victims of violence.
Rape is also a serious problem and is punished by 10 to 15 years’ imprisonment, or 20 years for the rape of a “vulnerable person”. The State can prosecute rapists even when no complaint is brought by the victim and a woman can bring a complaint of rape against her husband. Complaints are not lodged in most rape cases because of social stigma and the difficulties the authorities face in bringing the guilty to justice.
Female genital mutilation is not practised in the Dominican Republic, and there is no evidence to indicate that it is a country of concern in relation to missing women.
Dominican law on ownership generally provides equal protection for women, but they do not have full financial independence. Women have benefited from programmes granting them access to land. However, surveys carried out by the Secretary of State for Agriculture suggest that, in comparison to men, they are allocated smaller plots with low productivity, which provide only a subsistence level of livelihood. Most women who benefit from such schemes are aged between 41 and 60 years; thus, access to land is even more limited to women who are younger or older. Until the 1998 Land Reform Act, women were not legally entitled to obtain land through inheritance and men retained ownership of land in the case of divorce. As a result of all these factors, few women in rural areas own land.
Women in the Dominican Republic have free access to property other than land and are entitled to administer their property before and after marriage. There is a system of joint ownership of matrimonial property, which applies to about two-thirds of married couples.
Even though there is no discrimination in law, women find it more difficult than men to exercise their right to access to bank loans. To tackle this problem, the Dominican Agrarian Institute offers specific credit facilities for women. The number of women who benefit from official grants of such loans remains low.
Women’s civil liberties are respected in the Dominican Republic. Women appear to have full freedom of movement and freedom of dress.
CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) (2003), Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Dominican Republic, Fifth Periodic Report of States Parties, CEDAW/C/DOM/5, CEDAW, New York, NY.
CEDAW (2004), Replies to List of Issues, Fifth Periodic Report of States Parties, CEDAW/PSWG/2004/II/CRP.2/Add.1, CEDAW, New York, NY.
CRC (Committee on the Rights of the Child) (2001), Considerations of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 44 of the Convention: Concluding Observations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, CRC/C/15/Add. 150, CRC, New York, NY.
ENDESA (1999), Population and Health Census, CESDEM (Centre for Social and Demographic Studies), Santo Domingo.
ENDESA (2002), Population and Health Census, CESDEM (Centre for Social and Demographic Studies), Santo Domingo.
JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) (1998), Dominican Republic: Country WID Profile, Planning Department, JICA, Tokyo.
US Department of State (2007), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Dominican Republic, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC.
