Theme

Femicide in the Dominican Republic

Names
Chainys Daniela Henriquez.
Davianny Lissette Morales.
Audry Shanell Matos.
Lesly Esther Santiago.
Darisleydi Leonardo.
Brauly Lismel Sosa.

Subject
English.

facilitator
Othoniel Corniel Fabian.

Date
15/06/2023
 Introduction

Femicide is a serious problem in the Dominican Republic, and the pandemic has made the
situation worse. According to statistics from the Observatory of Gender Violence of the
Dominican Republic, in the first eight months of 2020, 82 femicides were registered in the
country. This represents an increase of 36% compared to the same period of the previous
year.

The pandemic has had a strong impact on the economy of the Dominican Republic, which
has increased the level of violence in general, including violence against women. Many
women have lost their jobs and income, leaving them vulnerable and dependent on their
partners or ex-partners.

In addition, the pandemic has limited women's access to essential services, such as medical
care, legal advice and shelters for women in situations of violence. This lack of access creates
barriers for women seeking to escape situations of domestic violence.

In summary, the pandemic has exacerbated the femicide situation in the Dominican Republic,
creating a greater need for preventive measures and support for victims of gender-based
violence.
index

Femicide in the Dominican Republic. ................................................................................. 5

Femicide ............................................................................................................................. 5
Importance ........................................................................................................................ 6
Characteristics .................................................................................................................. 6
Causes ................................................................................................................................ 6
Origin of the term Femicide ............................................................................................. 7
Femicide after the pandemic in the Dominican Republic. ............................................ 7
Problematic ...................................................................................................................... 10
Justification ..................................................................................................................... 11
Analysis of the results in the surveys: ........................................................................... 13
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 15
Bibliography ........................................................................................................................ 16
Anexus ................................................................................................................................. 17
Survey: Femicide. ................................................................................................................. 18
Percentages .......................................................................................................................... 20
 Femicide in the Dominican Republic.

Femicide

When we talk about femicide or femicide, we are referring to the murder of a woman for the
simple fact of being a woman. It is a hate crime, which occurs within the framework of gender
violence, that is, subjection to humiliating, cruel or painful treatment towards an individual
motivated by their gender or sexual orientation.

In fact, femicide is often accompanied by hostile attitudes, beatings, torture, rape, and other
criminal behaviors against women and girls. It is usually considered part of the group of hate
crimes motivated by gender violence, legislated according to the same legal order as the
murders of homosexuals or transgender people.

On the other hand, it is part of a social and political reading that highlights the patriarcal
order of societies, which subjects women to a secondary place compared to men. The
different schools of feminism, in this sense, play an important role in making visible the
cultural context that allows, promotes and tolerates femicide.
 Importance

The importance of defining femicide lies in establishing a regulatory framework that makes
visible, punishes, and contributes to eradicating gender-based murders of women, while
emphasizing the non-revictimization of women and their families within a justice system.

Characteristics

The violent death of women for reasons of gender is typified in our penal system as femicide.
Violence against women has its origin in gender inequality, that is, in the position of
subordination, marginality and risk in which they find themselves with respect to men.

Causes

It is not easy to give the causes of the existence of femicide in today’s society. Broadly
speaking, the explanation most times logically points to a patriarchal culture that has
dominated most human societies since ancient times, and according to.
Which was usual to consider women as second-class citizens, spoils of war and part of the
patrimony of men.

In the Athenian democracy, for example, neither women nor slaves could participate in public
decisions. In modern Western democracy, the female vote did not occur until the end of the
19th century, and thanks to the struggle of the suffragettes.

Origin of the term Femicide

The term femicide was coined by the South African feminist activist and writer Diana
Russell, who has dedicated her life to making visible and combating gender inequalities. This
term was defined as “the murder of women by men motivated by hatred, contempt, pleasure
or a sense of possession towards women”.

Russell herself explains that it “represents the extreme of a continuum of anti-feminine terror
that includes a variety of verbal and physical abuse, such as rape, torture, sexual slavery
(particularly for prostitution), incestuous or extra-familial child sexual abuse, physical
beatings and emotional”.

The term has antecedents in the English language since the beginning of the 19th century,
but it began to be used in a popular way since 1976 when Russell used it before the
International Tribunal for Crimes against Women.

Femicide after the pandemic in the Dominican Republic.

The Dominican Republic has one of the highest rates of femicide in the region and is the fifth
country with the highest cases of femicide at the regional level,” said the official.

Violence against women and girls is the most widespread violation of human rights in the
world, which is why every November 25 we firmly raise our voices to defend the rights of
women and to demand that the laws and public policies aimed at eradicating violence against
women are implemented.
Every 11 minutes a woman or girl is killed by an intimate partner or family member, and we
know that other crises, from the COVID-19 pandemic to economic shocks or natural
disasters, only increase physical assaults and verbal. In the Dominican Republic, calls for
cases of genderbased violence increased by 55% during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This discrimination, violence and aggression directed at half of humanity costs us dearly, as
it limits the participation of women and girls in all areas of life, denies them fundamental
rights and freedoms and hinders equal economic recovery. And the sustainable growth that
the world needs. It is time to take transformative measures to end violence against women
and girls”, said Antonio Gutiérrez, Secretary General of the United Nations, on the occasion
of this day.

According to data from ECLAC’s Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the
Caribbean, in 2020 the Dominican Republic was the second country in the region with the
highest rate of femicide, with 2.4 women murdered per 100,000. Violence against women
and girls is a great challenge and a pending issue for the country.

Seven out of 10 women over the age of 15 have experienced some type of violence
throughout their lives in the public or private sphere, with more than half of the cases of
violence within the couple, according to data from the Experimental Survey on the Situation
of Women (ENESIM) 2018. Adolescents are, according to the available data, especially
vulnerable.

Likewise, women with disabilities have up to 4 times more risk of suffering gender-based
violence and violence due to their condition of disability, and according to a.

Likewise, women with disabilities have up to 4 times more risk of suffering gender-based
violence and violence due to their disability status, and according to a survey carried out in
2021, two out of three LGBTI people confirm having been victims of violence. Migrant
women are also more exposed to violence due to gender discrimination, including
exploitation, trafficking, and smuggling.
According to the Statistics on femicides and homicides of women of the Attorney General’s
Office (PGR), from January to July 2022, 99 femicides and homicides of women were
recorded, according to the PGR classification. This year, compared to the previous one, the
rate of femicide has increased; going from 2.76 per 100,000 inhabitants in the first semester
of 2021, to 3.19 per 100,000 during the same period of 2022.

The more than 99 femicides and other manifestations of violence that have occurred throughout this
year have shaken Dominican society and remind us that it is time to act firmly. It is time to redouble
efforts at all levels of the State, involving the whole of society, to improve prevention, timely
detection, reporting, care and punishment of these crimes. Likewise, the approval of a comprehensive
legal framework that recognizes the various forms of manifestation of violence, and their respective
penalties, is urgently needed.

Among the main causes of femicides we can cite: low self-esteem, psycho-emotional disorders, little
tolerance, machismo, emotional dependence, extreme poverty and personality disorders. Due to the
high number of women murdered month after month and due to the negative repercussions that
femicides represent, this situation should be declared a national alert and thus seek immediate
solutions.

The most serious consequences of femicides are that hundreds of women die in productive ages,
leaving traumas in their families, orphaned boys and girls, being emotionally affected for life.

Quickly analyzing the statistics of the Attorney General’s Office regarding femicides, we can say that
between 2005 and 2016 there were 1,166 cases of femicides in the Dominican Republic and in the
first six months of 2017, 43 were registered.
 Problematic

Among the main problems of femicides we can mention that it is mainly low self-esteem,
psycho-emotional disorders, little tolerance, machismo, emotional dependence, extreme
poverty and personality disorders.

The situation of femicide in our country is serious. The death of 131 women in one year
overwhelms the entire society, and forces all institutions of power to promote actions from
the perspective of women's human rights, as a matter of social justice, health and education.

Most femicides are committed by a current partner, very low or previous economic resources
of the victim and include repeated domestic abuse, threats or intimidation, sexual violence or
situations in which women have less power or fewer resources than their couple.
Macho structures are considered the basis of specific gender violence.

Contempt and discrimination against women are so ingrained in society; For example, 15%
of the men surveyed consider that it is legitimate to invest less in the education of their
daughters.
Violence against women is considered normal or, at least, justified.

Violence against women and girls is a great challenge and a pending issue for the country.
Seven out of 10 women over the age of 15 have experienced some type of violence
throughout their lives in the public or private sphere, with more than half of the cases of
violence within the couple, according to data from the Experimental Survey on the Situation
of Women. Adolescent girls are, according to available data, especially vulnerable.

It is a form of discrimination that prevents their access to opportunities, undermines the

exercise of their fundamental rights and has problems with the health, freedom, security and
life of women and girls, as well as an impact on the development of countries and harms
society as a whole.
 Justification

With the above, it is observed that this problem continues to increase daily, add violent acts that try
to harm women and subject them to a discourse of power, so it is important to ask what leads an
individual to to commit a femicide? And what is it that leads a woman to submit to the commands of
dominance that are exercised over her, despite the fact that it may end with her life?

In the social sphere, it is important to carry out this investigation, since in the Dominican Republic,
according to the Statistics on Feminicides and Homicides of Women of the Office of the Attorney
General of the Republic, an average of 131 women die each year in one year, and by identifying the
possible causes, The lack of a gender perspective in the delivery of justice can lead to the justification
of gender violence committed against women and girls, as well as being a dangerous path that can
encourage the repetition of more aggressions against women and girls.

Violence has become a means to control and discipline those who do not submit to or comply with
the rules. That is to say, the individual in his eagerness to control and subdue the woman executes
actions that harm her, attack her, in order to subordinate or coerce her will, for the simple fact of not
complying with the roles imposed on women at the national level. social, having in some cases
consequences as serious as irreversible death.

Femicide is a category of direct violence against women, whose end is homicide, making visible
serious gender inequities in our society. Femicide is a social, political, cultural, legal medical and
public health problem that affects the youngest in our country. This type of homicide has been little
studied as a specific picture of family violence, which is why it is necessary to put more interest in it.

The problem is aggravated when analyzing the few statistics that exist, the same ones that indicate
that the main aggressors live and coexist in the closest family and social environment of the victim;
that is to say that the murderers are the cohabitant, the husband, the partner, the ex-cohabitant, etc.

In the sixty years that have elapsed since December 10, 1948, the date on which the General Assembly
of the United Nations solemnly proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, there have
been political, social, ideological and cultural changes, which have influenced profound and
unquestionable in relation to the knowledge of human rights, in relation to their protection and
guarantee by domestic and international law, as well as in relation to their validity and effective
respect in the world.
Subsequently, a Declaration was issued aimed at mainstreaming the gender perspective, including
among other aspects legislation, equal opportunities, reconciliation of professional life and family
life, gender statistics and diagnoses with a gender perspective, language, community awareness
university, gender studies in higher education and combating gender violence in the workplace and
school.

The relevance of our research is to equalize the rights between women and men, demonstrating that
the male sex does not have all the authority in the home, that is, both should contribute equally with
their opinions. With our Research we want to highlight the psychological and emotional damage that
many men do to their partner, and how this can lead to death (murder) We have to establish a
regulatory framework that makes visible, punishes and contributes to eradicating the murders of
women by gender reasons.
 Analysis of the results in the surveys:

Based on the percentage and responses of the surveys applied, it is reflected that a large
percentage of the people to whom they were applied are informed of what femicide is,
especially women, in which the impact of this crime is more reflected and that it
empathetically affects them.

Likewise, affecting their daily lives due to the fear of being one more victim, affecting their
day to day, without leaving aside that men are also familiar with this issue although they do
not have a chance of being victims, based on the answers a positive result was noted that
shows that it is up to all of us as a society to prevent and eradicate with this crime that deprives
women of life.

Femicide is a phenomenon of great impact that is present not only in women, but in society,
all people recognize that it affects in one way or another, not only being victims, but also
family, friends, etc. of those victims. It is the product of the transmission of culture, norms
and sexist behaviors that endure within our current society.
It is necessary to spread more about aid associations against femicide, we have come to the
conclusion that femicide is an issue that needs recreation and hides its true magnitude under
the lack of complaints, and even when passing as simple homicides, crimes of passion,
serious or minor injuries, etc.

It is necessary to name femicide as such, since only in this way, knowing it will we be able
to build a critical stance against it.

The importance of safeguarding women's human rights is summarized to the fact that one in
five women worldwide has suffered from physical or sexual abuse by a man, these are
alarming figures that we should not overlook, any type of violence against women is
shameful and as long as these phenomena continue to arise we will not be able to affirm that
we have achieved gender equality.
 Conclusion

Femicide is a serious problem in many countries, and it is important that effective policies
and programs are implemented to prevent and combat it. It is necessary to advocate for
gender equality and empower women, as well as promote education, awareness and culture
towards the respect and protection of women's rights to achieve significant and lasting
change.

The number of cases of femicide that have been registered in recent years in this country after
the pandemic is alarming, as is the need to continue working to prevent and eradicate gender-
based violence in all its forms. It is important to raise awareness throughout society about
this serious problem and take concrete measures to protect women and ensure that justice is
done for the crimes committed against them.

The solution to the problem of femicide is complex and requires a global approach, including
legal, political and educational measures to change the mentality and culture that allow
gender violence. Authorities around the world need to take effective measures to prevent
femicide, including training the police and the judiciary to properly deal with these cases,
ensuring adequate medical and psychological care for victims, and promoting awareness
campaigns to change the attitudes and behaviors that promote gender violence.

In conclusion, femicide is a very serious problem, not only in the Dominican Republic, but
also requires a global approach and a firm commitment on the part of the authorities, the
communities and each one of us to eradicate gender violence and promote equal rights.
gender and respect for women.
 Bibliography

(scribd, s.f.)

(catedraunescodh.unam.mx, s.f.)

(Judicial-de-violencia-de-genero, s.f.)
Anexus
 Survey: Femicide.

1.- DO YOU KNOW WHAT FEMINICIDE IS?

A) YES
B) NO

2.- DID YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO WAS A VICTIM OF FEMINICIDE?

A) YES
B) NO

3.- HAVE YOU ATTENDED ANY PRESENTATION THAT TALKS ABOUT

FEMINICIDE?

A) YES
B) NO

4.- WOULD YOU REPORT SOMEONE WHO COMMITTED A FEMINICIDE?

A) YES
B) NO

5-DO YOU THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO TAKE PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES TO

AVOID IT?

A) YES
B) NO

6- DO YOU THINK THE ISSUE OF FEMINICIDE IS IMPORTANT?

A) YES
B) NO

7- DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO HAS COMMITTED THIS CRIME?

A) YES
B) NO

8- HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ABOUT BEING A VICTIM OF FEMINICIDE?

A) YES
B) NO
 Percentages

DO YOU KNOW WHAT FEMINICIDE IS?

No
0%

Yes
100%

.- DID YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO WAS A VICTIM

OF FEMINICIDE?
92%

8%
 HAVE YOU ATTENDED ANY PRESENTATION THAT
TALKS ABOUT FEMINICIDE?

No
38%

Yes
62%

WOULD YOU REPORT SOMEONE WHO

COMMITTED A FEMINICIDE?
No
0%

Yes
100%
DO YOU THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO TAKE
PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES TO
No
0%

Yes
100%

DO YOU THINK THE ISSUE OF FEMINICIDE IS

IMPORTANT?
No
0%

Yes
100%
DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO HAS COMMITTED
THIS CRIME?
No
15%

Yes
85%

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ABOUT BEING A VICTIM OF

FEMINICIDE?

No
25%

Yes
75%