President Luis Abinader is firm in his conviction that the country needs to put an end to child marriage. He tweeted his position: “We reiterate the position of this government against child marriage. It is also the official position of PRM. Next Monday [16 November 2020] we will inform the country of the actions we are organizing to put a definite end to child marriage.”
While officially the position of the ruling Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) official position has been against child marriage, it would be a minority party deputy who would submit a first bill against it. José Horacio Rodriguez, of the minority party, Alianza Pais, submitted a bill in the Chamber of Deputies. It is his first bill.
Finally, on Thursday afternoon, with the presence of the president of the Chamber of Deputies, the Judicial Committee of the Chamber of Deputies that is studying the bill issued its favorable opinion. The action came after President Abinader had tweeted on his strong support to the bill.
The 15-legislator committee as of Wednesday, 11 November 2020, had not issued a favorable opinion. A leak on a meeting of the committee on Wednesday revealed that five of 10 deputies that were present for the committee meeting had favored including an exception for those 16 years old. Alexis Jimenez (PRM-Santo Domingo) went on record criticizing the leak as “legislative terrorism.”
The issue of child marriage became a trending topic after People’s Force (FP) deputy, Omar Leonel Fernandez, reported that a group of five deputies members of the Judicial Committee of the Chamber of Deputies that is studying the bill had proposed including exceptions to allow the marriage of girls 16 and 17 years old with men up to eight years older.
The bill against child marriage presented by Jose Horacio Rodriguez calls for banning child marriage in the country for those not of voting age, that is those under 18 years old. Today, the law allows girls to marry when they have parental authorization and a judge authorizes the marriage.
Virginia Saiz, of Plan International, a NGO that has spearheaded several campaigns against teenage pregnancy and child marriage, does not have high hopes the legislation will stop child marriages but says it is an important step forward. She spoke when interviewed on La Cuestion by Diana Lora and Patricia Solano on Super7FM radio at noon on Thursday, 12 November. Saiz acknowledges that most unions in the Dominican Republic are outside of legal marriages. But she says the way the legislation is today “legitimizes child abuse.” She says it turns the state into an accomplice to child abuse.
She said the legislative debates are a step forward and backward. She sees the passing of the law would be a step forward in the direction of other initiatives to end the tragedy.
Saiz said that legislators have a subjective vision of the definition of a female child. She says the position of the organization is that a girl is a child until 18 years old, even if she looks like a woman. The Minor’s Code establishes that the union of a girl and a man that is five years older than her is sexual abuse.
In the Dominican Republic public opinion, in general, is against child marriage without exceptions. Indeed, Patricia Solano speaking on the radio show said that most cases of gender violence involve a mother of a child who was had in a child union or an abused child.
Deputy Victor Suarez of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) commented that it is unheard of that there could be deputies that back child marriage. He said it is a practice where a man with money will buy a child from her parents. He said a minor does not have the capacity to decide by herself about getting married.
Deputy Alexis Jimenez (PRM-Santo Domingo) protested that the discussions and that the discussions for the exception were leaked. He called it legislative terrorism.
Meanwhile, prosecutor Rosalba Ramos said on Thursday, 12 November, that child marriage is child trafficking. The head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office explained that those who support a girl’s marriage are contributing to changing her life forever, alleging that an act of this nature falls within the category of abuse against women.
“It’s a topic that we are not going to get tired of talking about; it’s incredible that at this point in the game we are discussing here in the Dominican Republic what child marriage is,” said prosecutor Rosalba Ramos during an interview on the radio program “La Súper 7 en La Mañana.”
Senator Faride Raful (PRM-National District) is also firm in her opposition to child marriage. Speaking from Congress she said on 12 November:
“The Dominican state has failed children because it has not created the policies for their protection,” she complained. She said: “Child marriage is “21st Century slavery, when girls are prematurely pregnant, and are sold by their families for economic benefits, when they are not psychologically prepared.
“They need to live like little girls, they don’t have to play being a woman. Called it violence of gender has one of its origins that in 21st century Dominican legislators have not have the vision to eliminate it fully. Called it irresponsible for the Congress to not act. They are killing our women and we are not doing anything.
“You don’t have to be a woman to defend the girls, you have to be a human to defend the girls,” she stressed.
Lawyer Laura Acosta concurs that if Congress were to approve the exception, it would be legitimizing the sexual abuse that is already included in the Minor’s Code.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and the National Council for Children and Adolescents (Conani) also consider the proposal for including an exception an aberration since child marriage is an abuse against the minor.
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12 November 2020