Prostitution - Is it legal or legal in the DR?

Prostitution - Is it legal or legal in the DR?

I know that the DR has many laws that may or may not be abided by to lesser or greater degrees but just limiting the subject to de facto legality or illegality for now which is it?
I also take prostitution to mean the selling of one's own body to another for sexual pleasure.

Prostitution - Is it legal or illegal(woops) in th

Prostitution - Is it legal or illegal(woops) in the DR?

I know that the DR has many laws that may or may not be abided by to lesser or greater degrees but just limiting the subject to de facto legality or illegality for now which is it?
I also take prostitution to mean the selling of one's own body to another for sexual pleasure.

Re: Prostitution - Is it legal or illegal(woops) i

This question has come up before and lots on it in the archives.

The bottom line, it is "not illegal" (same as legal?) for those 18 and over. However, according to some posters, behavior contrary to public standards and decency is illegal.

We've never been able to get the opinion of a Dominican lawyer on this subject here on the forum. Maybe too contraversial.

It is illegal but not enforced like most of the vehicle traffic laws here. Sometimes they are arrested in groups and spend a night in jail.

I have beem told it's illegal, but tolorated.

Rob.

Re: Prostitution - Is it legal or illegal(woops) i

Prostitution is illegal. The only enforcement of the law occurs when made-to-order raids are made against specific joints by the competition. In other words, the police captain in the area would be paid by another club to have the competition closed, at least temporarily. The excuse is always looking for minors. Not valid excuse. They all have them. If you notice for instance that some clubs owned by foreigners have been harassed is the result of bribes not getting paid, or other owners paying for the closure. Just be sure to check before you visit one of them joints that the owner is in good fortune with our local police.
TW

It's illegal and punishable by fines up to RD$500.00 around the 15th. and 30th. of each month.

Prior, DR1 posted that is was legal (isn't anything that isn't illegal, legal by definition?).

See http://dr1.com/1999/index.cgi?read=15779 :

Posted By: DR1 <dolores@dr1.com>
Date: Monday, 20 September 1999, at 10:15 a.m.

We spoke to Mercedes Lora, legal counsel at the Ministry of Women, Tel. 809 685-3755, who told us that prostitution is not legal nor prohibited in the Dominican Republic.

If you know that it is illegal, what law is it that explicitly makes it illegal?

According to The Winter 97/98 edition of Bohio (labeled "the Dominican Magazine with International Coverage), the magazine placed in many hotel rooms for touists to read (I got mine from a room at the Don Juan in Boca Chica) has an article in it titled "Government and Asonahores, Complaint about improper publicity":

Prostituion in the Dominican Repulbic has had legal status from the time of the colony. It was authorized by Royal Warrant of the King of Spain Carlos V on August 31, 1596, to Joan Sanchez Sarmiento to install a house of public women in Santo Domingo.