The high rates of maternal mortalitythe lack of access to contraceptive methods, the low quality of care in health services, the lack of sexual education, the lack of a comprehensive policy to address violence, and the loss of jobs are some of the country’s main debts with the women.
This was indicated by the Center for Gender Studies of the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo (CEG-Intec), in the document “Debts and arrears of the country with women: Analyzing the knots that limit substantive equality and autonomy 2022”, presented by its coordinator, Desiree del Rosario; Dalul Ordehi, dean of the Area of Social Sciences and Humanities, and vice-rector for Administration and Finance at Intec.
According to the study, the Dominican Republic finds in sexual and reproductive rights one of its most sustained social debts with women.
At the end of 2021, the rate of maternal mortality in the country it amounted to 169 per 100,000 live births, 23% higher than that registered at the end of 2020, when it stood at 137 per 100,000 live births.
This situation is especially alarming in the case of the Cibao Occidental health region (Valverde, Santiago Rodríguez, Monte Cristi and Dajabón), where the rate of maternal mortality It shot up to 300%, in the Del Valle region (Azua, San Juan and Elías Piña) with 248%, and in the Cibao Central region (La Vega, Sánchez Ramírez and Monseñor Nouel) with 213%, according to data compiled through the bulletins of the General Directorate of Epidemiology (Digepi).
High number of caesarean sections
Del Rosario said that another issue that causes concern is the high number of cesarean sections that are performed in the country.
“While the World Health Organization adheres to the recommendations that the ideal caesarean section rate should range between 10% and 15%, in the case of the Dominican Republic, between January and December 2021, administrative statistics limited to certain public health centers indicate that the proportion of caesarean sections exceeds 47%, about 56,340 deliveries via caesarean section”, he highlighted.
It is estimated that 90% of deliveries in the private sector are by cesarean section.
“That increases costs, definitely. The Dominican Republic has received a wake-up call, the committee of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is proposing to the Dominican Republic the need to have a regulation and a health service that is efficient , that does not discriminate and does not marginalize people”, said the teacher.
The coordinator of CEG-Intec recalled that in 2019, Intec, in conjunction with the Ministry of Public Health and the United Nations Population Fund (Unfpa), conducted an investigation into the reasons for the maternal mortality in Dominican society and “most have to do with a deficit in the quality of service because almost all births are institutionalized.”
He also pointed out that there is high proportion of pregnancies at an early age.
“In absolute terms, in 2021, at least 14,555 vaginal deliveries were registered in adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19, another 10,825 cesarean deliveries, as well as at least 2,318 abortions within the public network of hospitals,” the document reveals, highlighting that the Republic The Dominican Republic continues to criminalize abortion in all circumstances and without considering any grounds.
“The statistics presented in the study collect data from Dominican women, not from foreign women or people who come through,” Del Rosario clarified.
The official data teen pregnancyaged between 10 and 19, would be around 20.9% in 2021.
“Sex education in the Dominican Republic continues to be limited or non-existent in the official public system. Therefore, many of the problems are rooted in a patriarchal structure, in a system that has allowed itself to be sheltered by dogmatic impositions”, highlighted the specialist in human affairs.
Both child marriage and early unions are associated with high rates of teen pregnancy in the country.
“We were already experiencing inequalities before the pandemic and it has intensified the differences, the gaps, the inequalities between men and women in Dominican society”CEG-Intec Coordinator
The CEG-Intec denounced that significant barriers prevail in access to contraceptive methods.
Citing a 2017 United Nations Development Program (UNDP) report, it indicates that 55% of women said they had not received information on sexual and reproductive health, while 22% said they did not use any contraceptive method after their first pregnancy, which causes a high prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases in the country.
Advances in the coverage of women in social security, which by December 2021 represented 50.2% of affiliation, are still insufficient to guarantee access to health services in decent conditions.
In addition, a marked unequal relationship persists in ownership in the contributory regime: women only have 38.6% of owners, while dependents are over 61.4%.
The document submitted by CEG-Intec He pointed out that as of 2020, the Dominican Republic registers the second highest rate of femicide among Latin American democracies, with 2.4 per 100,000. The list is headed by Honduras (4.7 per 100,000 women), the Dominican Republic and El Salvador, according to ECLAC data.
200 thousand jobs less after COVID
More than 200,000 women lost their jobs during the worst moments of the pandemic, a figure 55% higher than in the case of jobs lost by men, so the employment rate for women is barely 45.7 %, while in men it exceeds 73.1%.
“Poverty today is much higher than in 2019”, Del Rosario concluded.
With the presentation of this study, compiled in honor of the celebration in March of the International Women’s Daythe representatives of the Intec Center for Gender Studies seek to demand public policies that consider inequalities and are consistent with the purposes of social transformation, inclusive policies to reduce gaps between men and women.
