An investigation published today by the Dominican Political Observatory (OPD-Funglode) reveals that during the year 2021 there were 80 femicide in the country, eight cases more than in 2020, for an increase of 11.1% of the total number of these registered crimes.
The study, authored by the researcher Flor Batista Polo, indicates that, of the registered cases, 64 of these, as in past periods, correspond to intimate femicides, which are those that were perpetrated by aggressors or alleged aggressors who claimed to have or had previously or at the time of committing the crime, a romantic relationship with the victim.
The investigation of the entity attached to the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (Funglode) It also reveals that regarding these deaths, in 29.7% of the cases the victim was already separated from the perpetrator, while in 28.1% there was information about the violent history of the perpetrator towards the victim, however, there were only four complaints for violence against the victim. gender, domestic or intra-family and order of protection.
Likewise, 6.3% of the victims were pregnant, 14.1% were of Haitian, Italian and Canadian nationality and in 51.6% of the cases jealousy and the refusal of the victim to resume the relationship or Because I wanted to leave the relationship.
According to the OPD-Funglode investigation, during 2021, the age range of the victims of femicide was between four and 80 years old, while that of the perpetrators ranged from 21 to 65 years old.
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invisible victims
Batista Polo’s research presents the figures of girls, boys, adolescents and adults orphaned by femicides and children of the victims, which totaled 92 people who lost their mothers due to these events.
In these cases it was possible to verify that 38 of the victims of femicide had between one and seven children, of which 79 were minors at the time of the crime with an age range of one to 17 years, the study specifies.
“These figures show that despite the fact that reactive public policies have been established in the country aimed at reducing cases of femicide, the reality is that the figures have a significant variation year after year,” Batista Polo comments.
Figures since 2016
From 2016 to date, the country has registered a total of 566 women, adolescents and girls victims of femicide violence.
The OPD investigation, presented within the framework of the International Day to Eliminate Violence against Women, cites data published by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), specifies that between 2016 and 2021, 444,792 complaints of violence against women have been registered in the country. gender, intra-family and sexual crimes, of which 47.7% correspond to homicides of women and 52.3% to femicides.
In this period, 329 perpetrators and presumed perpetrators were arrested or turned themselves in to the police institution, of these, in 55.6% of the cases it was possible to obtain the data related to the measure of coercion, the compliance jail and the final sentence or sentencing imposed on these people.
In this regard, Batista Polo highlights that this raises the need to evaluate the public policies that are implemented to reduce the number of females who are affected by this type of crime.
Femicides in the region
During the last six years, approximately 30,136 women in 20 States of the region lost their lives, the countries with the highest number of cases being Brazil (7,030), Mexico (5,227), Colombia (3,949), Guatemala (2,288), Honduras ( 2,044), El Salvador (1,751), Argentina (1,611), Venezuela (1,213), Chile (1,029) and Peru (845).
These 10 countries concentrate 90% of the femicides registered in the period indicated by the civil society organizations that study the phenomenon and the police and judicial institutions that publish statistics about it.
On average, in the region, approximately 5,023 women, adolescents, and girls die each year as victims of femicidal violence and a system that does not have the necessary capacities to counteract the situation.
Series of femicides in the DR
Since 2015, OPD-Funglode has been preparing an annual matrix that contains the number of violent deaths of women, adolescents and girls motivated by gender in the country, providing unique figures.
This study is the fifth version of this research to be published by OPD-Funglode. The objective of the document is to provide essential data regarding the victims and perpetrators in cases of femicide with the intention that they contribute to raising the quality of the debate and provide possible solutions to the problem.
In addition, Batista Polo’s research takes into account the statistics of Latin American and Caribbean countries and presents the position in which the country is before the international community.
Author profile
Flor Batistas Polo has a degree in Law and a Master’s student in Victimology and Criminology at the International Institute for Social Security Studies (INISEG) in Spain, she also has diplomas in Sexual and Reproductive Law. She has nine years of experience in social investigations, standing out for her work related to the legislative branch, gender, domestic violence and femicide.
His experience in the subject has led him to participate in consultancies, congresses and international conferences. Flor Batista has conducted training on femicide, formulation and preparation of projects, strategy and defense policy, gender and humanitarian protection, among others.
Currently, she is the coordinator of the Legislative Power Unit of the OPD-Funglode and author of the series of booklets on femicide in the Dominican Republic.
OPD-Funglode research is freely available at www.opd.org.do.
