Women’s Ministry Presents Plan to Combat Domestic Violence and Violence against Women

Women’s Ministry Presents Plan to Combat Domestic Violence and Violence against Women
Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, 05/05/2011

The Women’s Ministry introduced “The Strategic Plan for the Prevention, Detection, Awareness and Punishment of Violence against Women and Domestic Violence” with the goal of stepping up the eradication of social, cultural, educational and economic causes that generate domestic violence and violence against women. The program seeks to create specialized systems that effectively and efficiently facilitate and detect domestic and gender violence.

These sad facts, which provoke painful consequences for the victims’ families as well as in society as a whole, seem to be unstoppable. We observe with uncertainty as, despite governmental and organizational efforts to confront it, the problem still persists,” said Ms. Germán.

Alejandrina Germán, Minister of Women, said the Strategic Plan (2011-2016) of the National Commission for the Prevention and Struggle against Domestic Violence (CONAPLUVI in Spanish) is a clear manifestation of the decision to assume collective responsibility for the issue.

Through specialized educational programs around the country, as well as other strategies involving intervention, they seek to strengthen the mechanisms of prevention and deterrence of violent conduct.

“Over the past decade in our country, around 200 women have died every year at the hands of their partners, husbands or an ex.

These sad facts, which provoke painful consequences for the victims’ families as well as in society as a whole, seem to be unstoppable. We observe with uncertainty as, despite governmental and organizational efforts to confront it, the problem still persists,” said Ms. Germán.

She added that the situation has gotten worse in recent months as we have seen a rise in murders by male partners or ex-partners who kill the woman, go on to kill the children then end up killing themselves.

Violence against women and domestic violence is a complex problem, generally motivated by social, cultural, economic and educational patterns that are passed down from generation to generation. This is seen in the majority of countries around the world.

“For these reasons, among others, the organizations that make up the National Commission for the Prevention and Struggle against Domestic Violence (CONAPLUVI) have decided to strengthen their links and joint projects and to put into effect more efficient strategies for the prevention, detection, awareness and punishment of violence against women and domestic violence,” added the Minister
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Alejandrina Germán explained that CONAPLUVI is a coordinating umbrella that includes governmental institutions, which, from their public position, intervene on the critical path to alleviate gender and domestic violence. It also includes representatives from the civil society that offer prevention or assistance in alleviating this problem.

She reminded listeners at this event that the governmental administration of 1996-2000, formulated the first Strategic Plan of CONAPLUVI with the fundamental proposal of creating the necessary institutional mechanisms for the application of Law 24-97 which identifies and punishes domestic violence and violence against women.

“In the past ten years there have been important achievements in the struggle to combat domestic and gender violence. They include the promulgation of new laws on the issue, important progress in the Model of Assistance which has advanced toward the creation of Model Assistance Units as well as the creation of the General Prosecutors Adjunct for Women, women’s shelters and the Gender Unit of the National Police force, among others,” Germán explained.

The National Commission for the Prevention and Struggle against Domestic Violence (CONAPLUVI) was created on November 19, 1998 by Executive Decree number 423-98. It was modified on November 22, 2000 by Decree number 1236, which enlarged its membership. It changed again on November 29, 2000, in order to define its rules and functions.

In addition to the Women’s Ministry, CONAPLUVI includes other organizations such as the General Attorney of the Republic; the Prosecutor’s Office of the National District; the National Police; the Commission to Support the Reform and Modernization of the Justice System; the National Council on Children (CONANI); the Board of Directors of the Community Development; the Dominican Association for the Well-Being of the Family (PROFAMILIA); the Support Nucleus of Women in Santiago; the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology; the Public Health sector; the Ministry of Culture; the Youth Ministry and the Ministry of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation.