Dominican Republic: "If they can have her, why can't we?" : Gender-based torture and other ill-treatment of women engaged in sex work in the Dominican Republic

Across Latin America and the Caribbean, gender-based violence is so widespread it is considered a public health problem. Evidence shows that women sex workers are at heightened risk for violence from state officials and other individuals. This report gathers strong evidence which suggests that women sex workers in the Dominican Republic are frequent targets for sexual torture and other ill-treatment by police, as punishment for transgressing socially constructed views about femininity, acceptable sexuality, and gender identity and expression, in violation of both Dominican constitutional and criminal law, and international human rights law.