CEG-INTEC says RD is far from eradicating discrimination against women

SANTO DOMINGO. - Dominican Republic is far de to guarantee la elimination for the discrimination en against of the of, this is evidenced by high rates de maternal mortality, tolerance and naturalization of child marriage and feminicidesAs well as low levels de female participation in the decision-making bodies of STATUS.

This is stated in the document.“The promise of the Sustainable Development Goals-SDGs and the situation of Dominican women”, Prepared by the Center for Gender Studies of the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (CEG-INTEC), on the subject of Winners will be announced in March commemorates the International Women's Day.

Fatima Lorenzo, coordinator of the CEG-INTEC, said that like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the National Development Strategy (END) mandates that the gender approach be a cross-cutting policy to the entire strategy, in order to identify situations of discrimination between men and women and take actions to ensure gender equality and equity. ”  

He stated that “The low level of compliance with the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda makes it a formal agenda whose value is more than anything discursive. Reversing this situation is only possible if the pertinent decisions are made that untie the knots and obstacles so that they go beyond the elaboration of strategic plans and the increase of the institutional structure to achieve the promise of the State. The nodes and obstacles refer to delays in the production of statistics, budget allocation and inter-institutional coordination

According to the 2018 Voluntary National Report on compliance with the SDGs, the Dominican Republic has significant achievements in the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda, however, this same report indicates that we still face significant challenges in overcoming persistent economic, social, gaps. Environmental, institutional and policy. “To achieve effective progress, the State must emphasize the universalization of social security coverage, coverage and quality of health and education services, and reduce gender inequalities. To do this, it is unavoidable to increase and improve the quality of social public spending, ”said Lorenzo.

Women and health

The report states that, in relation to the SDGs and priority areas for gender equality, the available data on sexual health and reproductive health of the population show the enormous deficiencies in this area at the national level.

Highlight that the country continues to present high rates de pregnancy in adolescence in ages between 15 to 19 years, overcoming in more than 52% el average de Latin America and the Caribbean. “During the last three decades, it is observed that pregnancy before the age of 20 is more common in rural areas than in urban areas. As of 2014, the gap is 3.5 percentage points: 16.5% in urban areas and 19% in rural areas, figures determined by the absence of quality comprehensive sexuality education, lack of access to sexual and reproductive health services and contraceptives, unions / forced child marriages and poverty ”.

The report, presented at the Julio Ravelo de la Fuente Hall of INTEC, also indicates that the rate of neonatal mortality is 21 per 1,000 live newborns. Bill 88% of the maternal deaths consist of avoidable and 85% are related to inadequate attention, given that 99% of deliveries take place in hospitals and 99.5% of women receive prenatal care.

About abortion

The CEG-INTEC states that the penalty no exceptions from abortion is another barrier important against women. “Abortion is the fourth cause of maternal death in the country and the Ministry of Health indicates that 22% of abortion interventions are performed in adolescents. Its incidence in the mortality of women of reproductive age is directly linked to their secrecy and the conditions of insecurity in which it is carried out ”.

Femicide and violence

The report presented cites the “Experimental Survey on the Situation of Women, ENESIM” conducted in 2018 that revealed that the 68.8% of the 15 year old women and more has experienced some kind of violence.

“The Dominican Republic ranks third in terms of the annual homicide rate of women in Latin America: 3.6 per 100 women, being the fourth leading cause of death in women of reproductive age from 15 to 34 years,” the report highlights.

Meanwhile, the murders committed by men towards women stand at 8.5%, seven times more than the proportion of homicides of women to men, which stands at 1.7%. More than half (50.6%) of the perpetrators are couples or former partners of the deceased. "Now, according to the PGR, the rate of femicides per 100,000 / inhabitants at 2019 is 1.49, which would indicate" a substantial decrease ", but as noted by national organizations, this is due to the definition of feminicide used by the PGR and not the real situation of violence against women ”.

Women and politics

On the political issue, CEG-INTEC states in its report that the political participation of the of I'm still sorry limited and uneven. It affirms “that it is necessary to transcend the formalism of the adoption of the laws and to move to the application of the same, overcoming the cultural resistance that persists. With the approval of Law 33-18, on Political Parties, Groups and Movements and the Organic Law of Electoral Regime 15-19, a gender parity range of no less than forty percent (40%) and no more is established. of sixty percent (60%) of men and women for all positions of popular election, and a quota of 10% of candidacies in favor of young people up to thirty-five years of age.

The application of these laws during the electoral processes of 2020 has proved very problematic, especially regarding the respect of the parity range, expressing the great resistance that persists in the recognition of the right of women to equal political representation.

Reflections and recommendations

The huge gender gaps that highlight the available data should serve as indicators on the priority action areas: social security, climate security, food security, poverty eradication from a multidimensional approach.

Addressing these priorities is essential to increase social spending and improve the quality of spending in a way that is consistent and aligned with the NDT, and the creation of a reliable national statistical system that provides the necessary information to assess the effectiveness of public policies. of development and give answers to the indicators elaborated for the fulfillment of the SDGs and the mainstreaming of Gender of all the Objectives of the 2030 agenda.

“To guarantee the rights of women-DDMM, the SDG compliance agenda must pay particular attention to the State's ability to guarantee women's sexual and reproductive rights and health, eliminate all forms of violence against women based on gender, and guarantee the equal representation of women and men in spaces of political participation, ”said Lorenzo.

This guarantee is based on the approval of the new legislative framework that has been stalled in the National Congress for decades: decriminalization of abortion, marriage reform in the Civil Code, VCM integral law, Sexual and Reproductive Health Law. But, it continues with the implementation of effective mechanisms for the implementation of strategic national plans, which includes higher and better levels of intersectoral and ministerial coordination, a reliable national statistical system, evaluation of results, greater and better investment, and greater and better transparency and accountability.

Similarly, it is necessary to define a road map and its accelerators for SDG 5 and establish the mechanisms for PLANEG III to be the fundamental input for these purposes.