Gender Violence In The Dominican Republic

Statistic’s have suggested violence is perpetrated against women in almost half of all marriages (Domestic Violence).Statistic’s gathered from 1994 indicate domestic violence causes almost 100,000 days of hospitalization, 30,000 emergency room visits, 40,000 trips to the doctor every year, and 50% of all homeless woman and their children are fleeing domestic violence( Domestic Violence).

In Mexico, violence affects a significant number of women. As of 2014, Mexico has the 16th highest female homicide rate in the world. In the study about women victims of intimate partner violence in Mexico, Frías and Agoff states

The topic that will be analyzed in this literature review is relationship violence in Hispanics. Specifically, it will be physical and sexual abuse in intimate partners. It is mentioned that Hispanic women are less likely to report or use services available to anybody. The services that are available to them are healthcare and housing. As well as, therapy of any type. Also, Hispanic women are less likely to report abuse (Cho 2012). The reasons for not reporting abuse can vary depending on the legal status or living situation of the person being abused. Some of the reasons can be due to fear, cultural, and language barriers (Chiara, Cuevas, Zadnik 2015). Aside from not reporting abuse there are consequences that come from abuse. There are different effects that women go through depending on the severity of the situation or abuse.

Violence against women within the family is an ongoing issue. Marital rape is a very serious form of intimate violence. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the definition for marital rape is defined as, “sexual intercourse forced on a women by her husband, knowingly against her will.” (Oxford University Press). However, the legal definition varies from state to next; marital rape is commonly defined as unwanted penetration or intercourse (oral, anal, or vaginal) taken by force and/or threat of force when a wife does not give consent (Roberts and Roberts). Research on the topic of marital rape has generally included couples who are separated, legally married, divorces, or have been involved in long-term relationships.

Throughout the Latin American region there are several commonalities in the ways that people are sex trafficked and they are similar to what is seen as elsewhere as well. Some of the primary causes of sex trafficking in the Dominican Republic include deception, the false promise of employment, family-control, and marriage fraud. The Dominican Republic is a special case in the Caribbean as not only does it have traffic routes to other countries within the region but also to regions beyond where neighboring countries traffic to. Trafficking out of the Dominican Republic can land women in Aruba or Curacao, Argentina, and as far as Germany, Italy and The Netherlands. Due to the extent of travel for many victims coming out of the Dominican Republic, the number of child victims is significantly lower than other countries in the region.

Domestic violence involves the systematic use of force, threats and intimidation by one partner upon another in order for the dominating partner to have control over the victim. In general, women who are abused physically are often isolated. Their partners tend to control their lives to a great extent as well as verbally degrade them. Even though the Latina women are particularly vulnerable to domestic violence because of their culture, it does not mean that this situation does not exist in other societies. Domestic violence happens in all races, religions and social statuses. It could appear in any family and in order to prevent it, everyone in the society must have knowledge of the problem, and

Instead of addressing the structural causes of violence as inequality, discrimination or corruption of institutions, law enforcement, military and police, have themselves become perpetrators of this structural violence restricting freedoms inherent to democracy. And, this strategy has not had significant results in combating organized crime and, on the contrary, itself has generated an increase in human rights violations committed by the police and military and contributed to the breakdown of the social fabric with high costs in bodies and lives of women who see their rights being restricted while increasing femicide, femicide and other serious violence especially against women. The drug war in Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala has become a war against women. In many regions, it has led to a crisis of insecurity where no one is safe. Homicide rates in the region recorded the highest in the world; Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila and Guerrero in Mexico and San Pedro Sula, Honduras today are places with more murders per capita in the world and rates of femicide and femicide have increased throughout the

Even though some areas of Latin America are underprivileged, women are empowering themselves at both the micro and macro levels. These women are utilizing their own will and desire to seek for change by changing policies and social systems to build a global response to violence against women. In an article titled “The Struggle for Women’s Equality in Latin America” the author, Donna Goodman, states Approximately one in three women in Latin America and the Caribbean has been a victim of sexual, physical, or psychological violence at the hands of intimate partners”. The issue of violence against women has always been a serious problem not just in Latin America but the rest of the world as well. “When countries are not experiencing active conflict,

Domestic violence is a serious and complex plague of society that affects all, but women make up the largest number of victims in most case studies. In the United States alone, "1.5 million women are raped or physically assaulted by an intimate partner each year. More than 500,000 women victims require medical treatment, and 324,000 victims are pregnant at the time of assault" (Berlinger, "Taking" 42). Numbers like these show how intense the situation of domestic violence truly is. "Two women a week are killed by a current or former partner and domestic violence accounts for 22% of all recorded violent crimes" (Jamil 70). Domestic violence takes such a large number in percentages regarding violent crimes, yet often is

The number of violence towards women have increase in the last few decades’ Potter & Banyard (2011). The research’s found, most of these violence occurs to women of low income women. Less violence is seen in women of middle and higher income levels. Some different types of violence which women face are domestic, sexual harassment, stalking sexual assaults, and emotional abuse (Potter & Banyard, 2011). It is documented these types of abuse takes a toll on women’s mental and physical health. Being a victim make it difficult for women to accomplish or be successful in the workplace, it is challenging to maintain or obtain employment. Potter & Banyard (2011), says when it comes to women in high level positions, although they are less likely to

Women in Mexico endure unbelievable hardships all due to their gender. Mexican women are faced with inescapable gender roles that cast females into cruel and subservient positions. Women are treated as second tier to their male counterparts and are commonly treated as subhuman. While men are capable of doing as they want, when and where they please; women have strict duties that must be followed to keep her husband and sons happy. “The macho male is not expected to become involved in child rearing, considered to be a woman’s task” (Deyoung, 1994). Unfortunately, it is all to common that when a women speaks out of term or upsets her husband, cruel and violent outburst occur. This abuse is widely accepted in Mexico, and little is done to prevent domestic violence. Women in Mexico live every day under house arrest, exist in fear of their male superiors. Fortunately in 1970 women began to fight back, and the Mexican feminist movement began. However, unlick the United States female revolution this feminist movement was quite and slow. Nonetheless the percentages of women in the work for began to rise dramatically and domestic abuse took a small step back. The women of Mexico today are still relentlessly fighting for equality. The gender roles cast upon women, men and the abuse women endure due to these gender roles cast upon them are all instrumental steps in the advancement of women’s rights in Mexico.

In 2012, a performance artist named Jacqueline Traide—in collaboration with the company Lush—staged a protest piece intended to draw attention to the plight of animals used for cosmetics testing. In a storefront window on a busy street, Traide (dressed in a nude bodysuit) allowed herself to be manhandled by “scientists” in the way animals subject to cosmetics testing often are: she was tossed around and injected with different substances, had liquid dropped into her eyes and her head shaved, and was finally force-fed. The protest was moderately successful, gaining some media coverage and traction on social media, but it didn’t really go “viral.” It didn’t flood Facebook newsfeeds, take

Dominican Republic still have a strong male oriented culture, but equality in the work environment is improving. Dominican woman working in construction, in politics, as a taxis driver, officers, and working hard labor jobs. This is influence by recorded music were television and the internet are an impact on these behaviors. The travel guide discussed that “woman make up a majority of high school and college graduate.” Recorded music had influenced the Dominican Republic which education with the help of television and the internet. Dominican schools are being influence by American school. Dominican Republic does not consider entertainment as an honorable profession. Dominicans are still old fashion when it comes to education. Dominicans still want their children to be doctors, lawyers and politicians. The idea of having a child that is an artist is still not as respected as the other

Throughout Latin America, women have maintained the status of second class citizens. Gender has remained a constant exclusionary ideology, separating women as “other” while keeping them subservient to their male counterparts. Historically, physical, sexual violence against women has not been controlled in Mexico and men have been allowed to exert social, economic and social dominance over women (Staudt 2008 35). In the last decade, the violent murder of women because they are women, often referred to as femicide, has become increasingly common throughout Mexico. Despite the increasing frequency of such violence, men who commit these crimes are rarely punished. The government of Mexico has failed to adequately investigate and prosecute these

Risk behavior, violence and crime at a young age, should be thought, not only through models, but also through the different practices of prevention and intervention of this kind of behavior (Blanco & Varela, 2011). In this sense, after-school programs and related extra-curricular activities aim to prevent adverse outcomes, decrease risks, or improve functioning with at-risk youth in several areas, such us academic achievement, crime, behavioral problems and socio-emotional functioning, (Kremer, Maynard, Polanin, Vaughn & Sarteschi, 2014).