El Caribe newspaper has revealed the findings of a study on the trafficking of Dominican women. Carried out from 1996 to 2000 by the Ministry of Women and the International Organization for Migration, the study reveals that around 50,000 Dominican women work as prostitutes in the US, Europe, Venezuela, Argentina and the Caribbean. The study says operators convince unknowing Dominicans to accept legitimate work contracts and finance their travel abroad. Once the women arrive, the traffickers confiscate their passports and impose their working conditions. The study calls attention to the need for educational campaigns to alert women as to what they are getting into. The research was presented during an International Organization for Migration seminar held in Jamaica.
