According to Anyoli Sanabria, when analyzing data from the Dominican Republic and other countries, the most frequent victims of violence are the youngest children and those with a disability.
The Deputy Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Anyoli Sanabria, reminded congressmen yesterday that in the Draft Law on the Criminal Code, it is of vital importance to protect children against any form of violence.
Following her participation in the public hearings before the Special Commission of the Chamber of Deputies studying the project, the UNICEF representative reiterated that it is necessary to ensure compatibility between article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Penal Code, since the aforementioned article invites signatory States to employ all efforts to protect girls, boys and adolescents against all types of violence.
According to Sanabria, the request for UNICEF This is not new, as in 2023, the Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that the country prohibit and eliminate corporal punishment, both in law and in practice, in all settings, including the home, alternative care centers, and daycare centers.
The UNICEF spokesperson stressed that this recommendation was accepted by the Dominican Republic delegation in Geneva, led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Council for Children and Adolescents.
She stressed that UNICEF, along with the Commissions on Justice, Childhood and Adolescence, Youth, Human Rights and Municipal Affairs, have focused their attention on Article 123, which suggests to Dominicans that violence against minors in the home is permitted as long as it does not represent a ‘pattern’ and is not ‘repeated’.
“The social message that is transmitted is essentially harmful to children, since it authorizes the use of violence, barely limiting its recurrence.“, he pointed out.
She concluded that respectful education does not mean promoting a permissive parenting style, but rather respecting the dignity of minors with limits based on reason, sensitivity, love, equality, tolerance and respect.
