The Ministry of Women confronts Congress and its Penal Code

The Ministry of Women, a state agency, has clashed with the National Congress and joined the family of President Luis Abinader in opposing the current reform of the Penal Code in the articles related to crimes against women.

The head of that entity, Mayra Jiménez, stated that the bill being discussed in Congress, which has significant chances of being approved, represents a setback for the protection of human rights , particularly those of women, girls, and adolescents.

This official openly rejected the proposed law being debated by the legislators, mostly men , and linked it to sexism and misogyny.

In addition to not including exceptions for abortion , Jiménez questions the fact that the definition of femicide is not correctly included.

"The approach being taken will make it difficult in practice not only to do justice to this phenomenon, but there is also a distortion of this phenomenon ," he predicted.

She argued that eliminating the circumstances that allow for distinguishing between homicide and femicide would weaken the recognition of gender-based violence, which would affect the effectiveness of the criminal offense and adequate protection for victims.

He also noted that the bill lacks more drastic sanctions against sexual harassment and the classification and recognition of street harassment .

"We are facing profound confusion and indignation resulting from a reform to the Penal Code that appears to be regressive and unacceptable... Not only should it be rejected by society , it should also be a permanent motivation for those of us who will never give up in the face of a machismo that remains rooted in Dominican society and that, I want to say, is misogynistic," she charged.

The Ministry of Women issued a statement last Monday (July 28) officially rejecting the bill in specific sections.

This text questioned the way in which harassment and sexual harassment have been defined, particularly through the reduction of penalties, the fragmentation into various types of crimes, and the omission of street and digital harassment as recognized forms of gender-based violence.

This offense is classified under the sexual assault section, but the Ministry states that it is an independent criminal offense that is aggravated by its sexual manifestation.

Regarding protection orders , the Ministry of Women believes it is necessary to ensure that these orders are enforceable not only in cases of domestic and gender-based violence, but also in other types of crimes that pose real and imminent risks to the victims' well-being, such as human trafficking, sexual violence, and stalking.

Regarding gender-based violence, they warned that the proposed criminal classification fails to clearly classify the types of violence (physical, sexual, psychological, economic, property, digital, or institutional), which would prevent the justice system from effectively applying due diligence.

"This wording, by not clearly reflecting the structural dimensions of this type of violence, deviates from the standard of comprehensive protection and can result in impunity or re-victimization ," they observed.

They argue that the proposed Code contains disproportionately low penalties and has ambiguous, duplicate and fragmented wording regarding crimes such as rape and domestic violence.

"Nor is a clear and consistent approach to consent guaranteed as a fundamental element for differentiating between a legitimate sexual relationship and assault, among other aspects," the document adds.

Advances in other areas

The minister listed the legislative advances made in recent years against human trafficking, something she considered encouraging given the opposite trend seen in criminal matters.

On the same topic, the Director of Prosecution of the Attorney General's Office, Wilson Camacho, was more open to finally achieving approval of the piece .

"We hope that Congress can approve the Penal Code during this term, but also provide the Dominican Republic with the best possible legal tools . That is, that we have a Code that can address the current criminal offenses and that we, the Public Ministry, have been addressing," he added.

Both figures made these statements at the event marking World Day Against Trafficking in Persons held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ' headquarters.

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