Dominican Women Documentary

    Like many Caribbean islands, when someone outside of the the island hears Dominican Republic, they likely think of it as a tropical vacation destination. Like the other Caribbean nations, though, there is much more to the island than tourism and life for the people, especially women, on the island is not all sunshine and rainbows. While I knew sex trafficking, prostitution, and sex crimes were prevalent issues globally, this documentary gave insight and raw truth to just how prevalent it is in some places. What was astounding to me is how people in powerful positions like law enforcement were apart of this. One woman in the documentary said, "For me, to avoid having sex with them I give them 20 or 25 pesos. Because they're going to take someone to jail anyway. They may not take one today, but the next day they'll take someone. And I would rather not have sex with them, I would rather pay them, or I let them take me to jail." It is mind boggling to think that someone would get arrested for not offering up their body to these acts. What is more sad is that there is seemingly nothing these women to avoid these situations. Like many of the issues we have seen in the Caribbean, these things happen because of a complete lack of central, effective leadership, leading to a trickle down effect of negative situations. 

    Not only are women violated in these sexual jobs, but worker rights in general are an issue in the DR. One woman spoke to this saying, "A larger violation, not just of the rights but also of the dignity of the women workers, is that at the end of their shifts they have to check them, or rather undress them, in front of the manager, usually a man, to see if they're taking anything from the company." This seems so absurd, but is common place in the DR along with the physically bad working conditions, women are forced to submit to these mentally and psychologically scarring situations. The documentary left me wondering - when will enough be enough? Something has to be done in these places.

-cs

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