The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfredo Pacheco, stated yesterday that more than 100,000 women are currently being exploited by the sex trade in the DR and that violence against women has ascended to alarming levels.
Pacheco was speaking as the Chamber of Deputies prepared for the International Day of Non-Violence Against Women, which is observed annually on 25 November. This date was chosen by the United Nations General Assembly in 1999 in order to honor the legendary Mirabal sisters, who were brutally assassinated by the Trujillo regime in 1960.
According to the report in the Listin Diario, Pacheco says much reflection needs to be given to this matter and action must be taken. So far this year, said the PRD deputy for the National District, 85 women’s lives have been claimed by violence and more than 7,000 have been victims of abuse. In this month of November alone, there have been more than 410 cases of violent acts committed towards women.
“The following numbers of women murdered by their husbands, ex-husbands…boyfriends and ex-boyfriends depicts a deplorable panorama: 93 women were killed in the year 2000, 131 women were killed in 2001, 115 women were victims in 2002, and in 2003 we lost 129 women.” Pacheco described the local sex industry as merely another form of aggression and abuse towards women. He added: “In a traditionally macho society like ours, many men cannot tolerate the growing participation of women in different social areas. Women have gone from domestic chores to taking relevant roles in politics, production, education, government and unions.”