U.S. Dep't of State, 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report: Dominican Republic

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (Tier 2) The Government of the Dominican Republic does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period; therefore, the Dominican Republic was upgraded to Tier 2. These efforts included amending the Law on Human Smuggling and Trafficking (Law 137-03) to remove the requirement to prove force, fraud, and coercion in trafficking crimes involving child victims, including sex trafficking. The government increased investigations and prosecutions, including of allegedly complicit officials; identified more victims; and increased the number of labor inspections in sectors with forced labor risks.

The government suspended the activities of several Chinese-national owned companies after finding forced labor indicators during labor inspections, adopted a 2025-2028 NAP, and took steps to implement a government pilot program to register migrant workers who possess work contracts, which would allow workers freedom of movement, reducing their vulnerabilities to forced labor. However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas. Efforts to investigate labor trafficking cases and identify labor trafficking victims remained inadequate despite progress, including in sectors with forced labor risks. The government did not provide identification cards to eligible stateless persons in the country, exacerbating their vulnerabilities to trafficking.

It did not ensure adequate services for all victims and due to inadequate screening among vulnerable populations, it limited opportunities to identify potential trafficking victims prior to removal from the country. PRIORITIZED RECOMMENDATIONS: Proactively identify trafficking victims, including forced labor and sex trafficking victims, by screening for trafficking indicators among vulnerable populations, including in agriculture, construction, and tourism sectors; foreign workers; migrants prior to their removal from the country; and in businesses known to have forced labor indicators and unfair business practices. Streamline communication between the Ministry of Labor (MOL) and the Attorney General’s Office to facilitate direct reporting of forced labor cases. Vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes and seek appropriate penalties for convicted traffickers, including complicit officials, which should involve significant prison terms.

Fully implement Law 169-14 to issue nationality documents to eligible Dominicans. Train officials, including labor inspectors, immigration officials, and police, on the use of established SOPs for the proactive identification of trafficking victims and for the referral of victims to care services, including through ongoing human trafficking trainings at police academies. Foster trust between victims and law enforcement to better enable victim reporting of cases. Expand consistent access to care and ensure capacity to address the specific and unique needs of male and female victims, including children.

Ensure potential child trafficking victims, including those involved in gangs and drug trafficking, are screened, identified, and referred to care and are not inappropriately penalized solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked. Issue or renew identity documents to eligible populations, including temporary workers, to reduce vulnerability to trafficking.

PROSECUTION

The government overall increased prosecution efforts but did not adequately investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes involving forced labor, and corruption remained a significant concern. Law 137-03, as amended, criminalized labor trafficking and sex trafficking and prescribed penalties of 15 to 20 years’ imprisonment and fines, and prescribed penalties of 20 to 30 years’ imprisonment and fines for cases involving children or individuals with disabilities. These penalties were sufficiently stringent and, with respect to sex trafficking, commensurate with those prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape. In October 2024, the government enacted amendments to the law that removed the requirement to prove force, fraud, and coercion for trafficking crimes involving child victims, including sex trafficking, thereby bringing the law in line with international law.

Additionally, Article 25 of the Child Protection Code of 2003 criminalized the offering, delivering, or accepting, without regard to means used, of anyone younger than 18 years of age for the purpose of sexual exploitation, forced labor, or any other purpose that demeaned the individual, for remuneration or any other consideration, and prescribed a penalty of 20 to 30 years’ imprisonment and a fine. The government initiated 229 trafficking investigations in 2024 (216 for sex trafficking and 13 for forced labor), compared with 99 trafficking investigations (89 cases for sex trafficking and 10 cases for labor trafficking, including three cases of forced begging) in 2023. The government continued investigating 57 sex trafficking cases, compared with continuing 18 sex trafficking investigations in 2023. The government initiated prosecution of 50 alleged traffickers (38 for sex trafficking, three for forced labor, and nine for unspecified forms of exploitation), compared with 40 alleged traffickers (24 for sex trafficking, one for sex and labor trafficking, six for labor trafficking, and nine for unspecified forms of exploitation) in 2023.

The government continued previously initiated prosecutions of 28 suspects (24 for sex trafficking, three for forced labor, and one for sex trafficking and forced labor). The government prosecuted all 78 suspects in new and ongoing cases under Law 137-03, compared with 43 suspects in 2023; in 2023, some trafficking cases were prosecuted under different laws, which may have carried lower penalties. Courts convicted 11 traffickers under Law 137-03 (seven for sex trafficking and four for forced labor), compared with 20 sex traffickers in 2023 (14 under Law 137-03 and six under other laws), including one police officer. The sentences for convicted sex traffickers ranged from three to 20 years’ imprisonment.

The sentences for convicted forced labor traffickers ranged from two to 10 years’ imprisonment. Corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained significant concerns, inhibiting law enforcement action during the year. An observer reported nepotism in hiring processes resulted in many anti-trafficking related government positions being filled by individuals who lacked expertise. The General Directorate of Migration (DGM) previously reported it sanctioned or dismissed some migration officials for accepting bribes and threatening victims, leaking information, and illegally detaining potential victims in migrant smuggling cases that may have also involved trafficking.

According to previous reports, National Police Anti-Trafficking Unit (ATU) officers alerted traffickers of impending law enforcement actions. The government reported investigating eight officials allegedly complicit in trafficking crimes, including the cases of a National Police sergeant suspected of facilitating the operations of a sex trafficking network and an officer who facilitated the entry of sex trafficking victims into the country; the government investigated three officials in 2023. The government reported initiating three prosecutions of officials allegedly complicit in human trafficking cases. The government did not report any convictions of officials complicit in trafficking offenses, compared with one police officer convicted in 2023.

Some investigations and prosecutions reported by the government may have involved cases of child sexual abuse material or migrant smuggling. The government reported it enforced the anti-trafficking law for every trafficking case identified; however, observers reported the government sometimes chose not to pursue cases when victims were Haitian. Observers reported overreliance on victim testimony led officials to neglect cases if victims were unwilling or unable to testify. The Specialized Prosecutor’s Office against the Smuggling of Migrants and Trafficking in Persons (PETT) and ATU were the principal law enforcement bodies pursuing trafficking cases, with police units throughout the country.

PETT had liaisons in each of the 36 jurisdictions nationwide. The government did not have specialized trafficking courts. An NGO reported authorities almost exclusively dedicated their anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts to addressing sex trafficking in urban areas and did not make significant efforts or provide funding to combat labor trafficking in rural areas. The government reported law enforcement resources remained overwhelmed with increased inward migration flows, which hindered officials’ attention to trafficking crimes.

The government reported cooperating with foreign law enforcement officials in 50 investigations and participating in multilateral fora to exchange anti-trafficking strategies with regional partners. The government trained law enforcement, military, and social services personnel to identify trafficking, including via online platforms; victim identification and services; and border security. Additionally, the government reported working with technology companies to identify potential trafficking cases. However, an observer noted inadequate anti-trafficking training for law enforcement and insufficient collaboration between agencies, which weakened the provision of justice in trafficking cases.

PROTECTION

The government slightly increased victim protection efforts, however, efforts to identify forced labor and male victims remained inadequate. Authorities identified 136 trafficking victims – 123 exploited in sex trafficking (111 women and 12 girls) and 13 in forced labor (two women, 10 boys, and one girl), compared with 74 victims in 2023. Of the 136 victims identified, 47 were Dominican citizens exploited in the country; 16 were Dominicans exploited abroad; and 73 were foreign nationals, including three Haitians, three Venezuelans, one Chinese national, and 66 Colombians. Of the 16 Dominican victims exploited abroad, one was a victim of forced labor in Argentina and 15 were sex trafficking victims (four in Nigeria, three in Bahrain, and eight in Turks and Caicos).

The government reported coordinating with consulates and embassies to repatriate foreign victims and with foreign governments to support repatriation of Dominicans victimized abroad. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs financed the repatriation of four Dominican victims (one from Argentina and three from Bahrain) and referred them to PETT for services management upon arrival; 12 Dominican victims were repatriated with assistance from a foreign government and civil society. The Council for Children and Adolescents (CONANI) reported collaborating with international organizations to repatriate child victims to their home countries and with Haiti’s Institute of Social Welfare and Research to repatriate Haitian child victims. The government referred 37 victims to government services or government-supported NGO services, while civil society organizations referred the remaining 99 victims.

This compared with the government having referred all 76 potential and confirmed victims in 2023. Two victims refused services, and 134, including 70 foreign victims, received government or government-funded protection services. Victims could receive medical and psychological care, legal assistance, financial support, livelihood training and education, and translation services; however, the government noted some services were unavailable in rural or border areas. The government had standard protocols for identification of victims and their referral to protection services, which established responsibilities among key stakeholders.

DGM reported implementing a new protocol to screen migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers for trafficking indicators; however, observers noted officials generally did not screen vulnerable populations for trafficking indicators prior to deportation and that some officials requested bribes from foreign nationals seeking to avoid deportation. Despite reports of Haitian victims being exploited in forced labor in agriculture in the southern regions of the country, observers reported a lack of identification of these victims. The National Police referred identified victims to PETT. PETT or the Attorney General’s Office for Children and Adolescents determined whether a child trafficking victim should be placed under protection and if so, referred them to CONANI.

The government reported updating, in collaboration with civil society, standard protocols for government institutions that provide victim services to improve the referral of victims to protection services, including shelters. The government reported victims could receive some services before obtaining official victim status. Additionally, the government provided children with education, access to recreation and sports, and psychological support for eventual family reunification. The government reported Creole interpreters were available across relevant institutions to assist in identification and referral efforts.

The government reported all victims, including foreign victims, had equal access to comprehensive protection services; however, the government did not report funding or providing specialized services dedicated to male victims. The government could house male victims in the public prosecutor’s buildings in order to provide them with care; however, these are not specialized for trafficking victims. CONANI coordinated services for child victims, including referrals to specialized NGOs. The tourism police agency worked closely with government institutions and NGOs to arrange lodging and ensure access to support services for potential child victims.

PETT received 32.6 million Dominican pesos ($525,230) from the general budget, compared with 31.8 million Dominican pesos ($514,058) in 2023. The Ministry of Women designated 17.7 million Dominican pesos ($283,432) out of its annual budget for prevention efforts and the protection of victims. PETT operated a specialized shelter with space for 55 victims with the ability to accommodate individuals with disabilities. The Ministry of Women also operated 18 domestic violence shelters – one with specialized services for trafficking victims – that could accommodate female adult trafficking victims and their children up to age 14; the government referred children older than 14 to CONANI for assistance.

Female adult victims could choose to stay in a shelter, but authorities did not allow most victims to leave shelters unchaperoned, citing retribution concerns. CONANI operated 11 shelters for more than 450 child victims of crime, including trafficking, compared with 10 shelters in the previous reporting period. NGOs reported that CONANI occasionally struggled to provide an appropriate environment and specialized psychotherapeutic treatment for child victims. The government provided victim care training for shelter staff.

Observers reported inadequate capacity in shelters for children and adults and the need for a case management system. NGOs reported law enforcement often referred victims to care provided by NGOs and international organizations as the government lacked the technical capacity and procedures to address victims’ needs, including at the specialized shelter. The government reported that a system for victims to seek restitution was in place; however, there were no reports of its use during the reporting period. Prosecutors reportedly did not always pursue restitution for victims in criminal cases, and without public legal assistance, victims were often unable to seek compensation civilly.

The government reported some victims collaborated with authorities during investigations and prosecutions, including by providing their testimonies via interviews in Gesell chambers and in advance. The government reported one victim cooperated with law enforcement during an investigation of a sex trafficking case involving an allegedly complicit official. The Ministry of Women provided assistance and accompanied 105 trafficking victims during the judicial process and the Victim and Witness Protection Unit of the Attorney General’s Office provided them 24/7 protection. Authorities reported all victims had access to government protection services, regardless of whether they chose to cooperate with judicial proceedings.

The trafficking law did not provide safeguards for foreign victim-witnesses to ensure they were not inappropriately penalized solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked. Foreign victims that assisted with investigations and prosecutions were provided with repatriation and legal assistance.

PREVENTION

The government increased prevention efforts; however, the lack of identification documents for stateless individuals continued to create trafficking risks. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs chaired CITIM, the interagency commission that led national efforts to combat human trafficking and migrant smuggling. CITIM met eight times in 2024, including to discuss the implementation of the 2022-2024 NAP and finalize the 2025-2028 NAP, which was approved in January 2025 and funded by the national budget. The government did not allocate specific funds for anti-trafficking efforts or implementation of its NAP beyond the standard operating budgets for CITIM institutions.

The government reported consulting civil society and survivors while amending Law 137-03. Private sector stakeholders reported increased political will to strengthen anti-trafficking efforts. Government agencies carried out awareness-raising activities in Spanish, Haitian Creole, and Braille through social media, billboards, and community awareness sessions in different parts of the country, including in the tourism sector. NGOs stated the government largely relied on international organizations for assistance with research and awareness campaigns.

The government operated one dedicated 24/7 national trafficking hotline and four other general hotlines that could receive human trafficking calls in Spanish, Haitian Creole, English, and French. The government also maintained several websites to report crime, including human trafficking; a Ministry of Foreign Affairs crime website led to the identification of a victim. In February 2024, the government adopted Resolution No. 13-2024, which created a process for stateless individuals to receive identification cards; however, the government did not provide any identification cards during the reporting period. Observers reported the lack of documentation and identity cards, including among workers in agriculture, construction, and other sectors, hindered access to basic resources, the formal labor sector, and education, left stateless populations, including children, at a higher risk of exploitation, including trafficking.

The government reported registering 7,443 migrant workers in the country with illegal status, primarily in the sugarcane sector, in a government pilot program, which if fully implemented would certify that the workers had work contracts and help protect them from forced labor risks, including ensuring social benefits and legal wages, and preventing confinement in employment premises. Workers registered in the pilot program, if fully implemented, would be eligible to obtain QR codes that would verify they worked with a local company if they were stopped by authorities and allow them to stay in the country while their employment contracts were in effect. The government pilot program would require monthly reports from employers and labor inspections. The government reported participating in multiple national stakeholder meetings on combating human trafficking and migrant smuggling in coordination with international organizations in different regions of the country.

The labor code prohibited charging workers recruitment fees; recruiting workers through fraudulent offers of employment; misrepresenting wages, working conditions, location, or nature of work; and confiscating or denying workers’ access to identity documents. The MOL used a questionnaire during labor inspections to screen for vulnerability to labor exploitation, including trafficking. The MOL employed 209 labor inspectors with an annual budget of 362 million Dominican pesos ($6.1 million), compared with 259 million Dominican pesos ($4.4 million) in 2023. The MOL could receive complaints about child labor electronically, by telephone, or in person; it received 22 complaints in 2024.

The government reported increasing the number of inspectors assigned to areas at high risk of forced labor, including the sugarcane, agriculture, and construction sectors; inspections in these sectors increased from 619 in 2023 to 1,050 in 2024. Despite this effort to strengthen the capacity of the labor inspectorate, labor inspectors did not routinely identify forced labor cases or refer them for criminal investigation, hindering anti-trafficking efforts. In July 2024, the MOL temporarily suspended the activities of 11 private companies, including Chinese national-owned companies after identifying forced labor indicators during inspections, including restriction of movement, deception, and withholding of wages. However, the government did not identify victims of forced labor as a result of these efforts, if these cases were referred to law enforcement for criminal investigation, or if these private companies were held administratively accountable.

An expert noted that authorities did not always adequately follow up on reported alleged forced labor cases due in part to structural issues in the reporting mechanism between MOL and the Attorney General’s Office, where a justice of the peace acted as an intermediary and often did not refer cases as trafficking due to lack of knowledge on trafficking. MOL and the Attorney General’s Office signed an agreement to strengthen coordination on anti-trafficking efforts. The government made some efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts, including increasing penalties for those who purchased commercial sexual services of children and increasing police surveillance in tourist areas where commercial sex acts were prevalent. The government continued to participate in a multi-country operation to identify and investigate individuals traveling overseas who had been convicted of sexual crimes against children.

Laws provided for the prosecution of Dominican citizens who engaged in extraterritorial child sexual commercial exploitation abroad; the government did not report any such prosecutions. TRAFFICKING PROFILE: Trafficking affects all communities. This section summarizes government and civil society reporting on the nature and scope of trafficking over the past five years. Human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in the Dominican Republic, and traffickers exploit victims from the Dominican Republic abroad.

Dominican women and children, particularly from impoverished areas, are exploited in sex trafficking throughout the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean, South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. Children who experience homelessness and Haitian children are at higher risk of being exploited in forced labor, including forced criminality. Observers reported elderly individuals and people with disabilities are exploited in forced begging. Foreign trafficking victims especially from Haiti, Colombia, China, other parts of the Caribbean and Latin America, and Asia are exploited in the Dominican Republic.

The Dominican Republic has the largest stateless population in the Western Hemisphere. In 2014, the government passed a law intended to provide a pathway to citizenship for stateless individuals, but improper implementation of the law has left more than 100,000 Dominicans of Haitian descent effectively stateless and vulnerable to trafficking. They face significant barriers in obtaining citizenship documents, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation, including trafficking. Haitian children smuggled into the Dominican Republic to board flights to transit to a third country to reunify with their families are vulnerable to trafficking under the supervision of migrant smugglers and some become unaccompanied in the Dominican Republic.

Chinese national-owned companies in the Dominican Republic employ Chinese, Haitian, and Dominican citizens in workplaces with forced labor indicators, and some engage in unfair business practices, such as firing workers after three months of work without pay. The Dominican Republic is a destination for perpetrators of extraterritorial commercial child sexual exploitation, primarily from North America and Europe. Traffickers frequently exploit teenage girls in child sex trafficking in streets, in parks, and on beaches. NGOs attribute the increase in child trafficking victims to a lack of regulations and enforcement in the tourism industry.

Traffickers operating in networks continue to employ methods to mask their activities, including the use of catalogs to sell victims to potential clients in private homes, rented private apartments, or extended stay hotels. Traffickers use social media to recruit victims, including through fake job postings, online romantic relationships, and obtaining personal information to extort victims. The Dominican government reported traffickers use the dark web, including chatrooms, to sell child sexual abuse material. Government officials and NGOs reported a significant increase of Colombian sex trafficking victims exploited in tourist and metropolitan areas, including in private residencies.

Dominican officials and NGOs have documented cases of children forced into domestic service, street vending, begging, agricultural work, construction, robbery gangs, and moving illicit narcotics. Children are also vulnerable to forced labor in the rice, coffee, tomatoes, and baked goods sectors. Adults and children are exploited in forced labor in the sugar sector, and adults are exploited in the construction, agricultural, and service sectors. Haitian women report that smugglers often become traffickers for sexual exploitation along the border, with traffickers operating with impunity and corrupt Haitian and Dominican officials accepting bribes to allow undocumented crossings.

The government acknowledged a general lack of understanding of trafficking among the Dominican population, though observers in 2023 noted increasing recognition of the problem among civilian authorities. On This Page search > < DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (Tier 2) PRIORITIZED RECOMMENDATIONS: PROSECUTION PROTECTION PREVENTION TRAFFICKING PROFILE: Tags Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs Dominican Republic Human Trafficking Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Reports