Santo Domingo, DR
Today, July 30, marks the world day against the illicit exercise of transportation, recruitment, retention and reception of people through physical or psychological abuse, known as “trafficking in persons”.
Although the Dominican Republic is not one of the countries where the incidence of illicit trafficking of nationals marks its pace with greater force, it is not exempt from cases of kidnapping, fraud, deception or abuse of power that derive from an oppressor who takes advantage of a social entity in a vulnerable condition.
According to data from the latest report from the United States Embassy in the Dominican Republic on human trafficking, the nation is a central destination for sex tourists, mainly from North America and Europe, for child sex trafficking.
The file, dated July 19, states that trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation of girls aged 15 to 17 it occurs in the streets, parks and beaches, many through traffic networks with smoke screens that use different methodologies to deceive their victims; such as posing as sellers of a product that arouses interest.
Network traffickers continue to employ methods to mask their activities, including using catalogs to sell victims to potential clients, using private homes, private rented apartments, or extended-stay hotels to house victims.
higher index
A study carried out by Participación Ciudadana for the beginning of this year indicates that this modality has a higher rate of presence in municipalities in tourist areas such as Higüey, La Romana, Puerto Plata and Boca Chicathe latter with a strong concentration on the recruitment of children and adolescents.
“Both in municipalities located in tourist areas and in those not located in these areas, there is a Haitian, Venezuelan, Colombian and, to a lesser extent, Ecuadorian migrant population that have been and are victims of trafficking in sexual exploitation, forced labor, commercial sexual exploitation of childhood and adolescence, forced begging, servile marriage and domestic servitude. Likewise, the Dominican population that is designated as victim of internal trafficking for domestic servitude, sexual exploitation and servile marriage”, cites the document.
The records of the study show that the use of falling in love as a form of recruitment, as well as digital platforms, tourism promotion structures and tour operators. Of the total number of victims of sexual exploitation, a quarter are children and more than half are girls and women.
The US Embassy reports that Colombia, Mexico and Brazil are the Latin American countries most affected by the scourge of this crime, with victims who are exploited both within these nations and abroad. The main international destinations son: Spain, Dominican Republic, China, Japan, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Argentina, Panama, Paraguay and United Arab Emiratesaccording to data from the Attorney General’s Office.
government complicity
Data from the American Embassy affirm that an NGO and other observers reported that the Police Unit against Trafficking in Persons (UAT) was operating fully until the change of government occurred in November 2022, after which it slowed down its activities while the new staff learned their responsibilities; the national police were working with provincial police units to continue investigations.
They also explain that the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office against Illicit Smuggling of Migrants and Trafficking in Persons (PETT) and the UAT were the main police agencies that investigated the cases of trafficking, with police units in the provinces of Santo Domingo, Punta Cana, San Cristobal, Puerto Plata and Boca Chica.
Likewise, that the corruption and complicity of officials in human trafficking crimes were a cause for concern within the experimental period of the file, which prevented the action of the security forces during 2021.
Law on tatra of people
The Legal Consultancy of the Executive Power has worked together with the government since 2019 in the modification of the Law No. 137-03 on Smuggling of Migrants and Trafficking in Persons, promulgated on July 16, 2003, so that it adapts to the current reality, more globalized and with technological advances that are used in the commission of different forms of the crimes it covers.
A month after José Monteiro, coordinator of the Civil Society against Trafficking in Persons and country director of the International Justice Mission (IJM) affirmed that the draft modification of the Law that, in the plans of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was intended to be deposited before Congress this year this not yet reached the hands of the body and, therefore, the pointer continues in the same place.