Femicides rise 36.4% in Dominican Republic: only 13% reported
Up to 17 May 2026, 30 intimate femicides were recorded in the country, compared to 22 in the same period in 2025. Only 4 of the 30 victims had reported their aggressors.
Thirty femicides in less than five months in Dominican Republic
Up to 17 May 2026, the Dominican Republic recorded 30 intimate femicides, compared to 22 in the same period in 2025, according to information released on Monday by the Minister of Interior and Police, Faride Raful. The increase represents 36.4 per cent, reported infobae.com based on official data from the Ministry of Interior and Police and the National Police.
The figure contrasts with the downward trend of previous years: the country had recorded 71 femicides in 2024 and 60 in 2025 for the same cut-off date, making the current upturn a warning signal for authorities.
87% of victims had not reported
Only four of the thirty women murdered this year had filed a formal complaint with authorities before the crime. That means 87 per cent of cases had no prior record in the system, according to data released by Raful to the press during the meeting of the Citizen Security Plan, headed by president Luis Abinader and covered by media outlets Diario Libre and HOY.
The minister acknowledged that the institutional system has shortcomings in prevention and that the magnitude of the social emergency requires opening new avenues of protection for women at risk.
Pharmacies and supermarkets as complaint points
In light of the recurrence of cases in which victims fail to access protection in time, the Ministry of Interior and Police launched initiatives to facilitate reporting. These include training of staff at establishments of everyday use, such as pharmacies and supermarkets.
Raful explained to Noticiassin that this measure, developed jointly with the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic and the Ministry of Women, aims to offer "alternative channels that are closer and more accessible, complementing traditional reporting mechanisms" and thus avoid re-victimisation or silence due to fear or distrust in the system.
"Cultural challenges associated with machista patterns"
The minister also noted that "Dominican society faces cultural challenges associated with patterns of machista behaviour" and stressed that the change necessary to prevent gender-based violence goes beyond institutional action.
"We will continue working with the tools we have and will put everything necessary at the disposal of preventing this from continuing to be a sad reality that wounds the social fabric of the Dominican Republic," Raful said in statements reported by HOY and Diario Libre.
Raful further stated that the state response will never be sufficient when it comes to saving lives, and reported that in coordination with the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic, investigations are ongoing into the most recent cases that have generated public concern.
Femicides: 15.7% of total homicides
Within the total of 467 homicides recorded up to 17 May, 191 are related to social conflicts, of which femicides represent 15.7 per cent, Raful specified. The Ministry attributes part of the state's ineffectiveness in containing the phenomenon to the lack of reports and insufficient institutional coordination.
The minister described each femicide as "a national and social tragedy" and insisted that the defence of women's rights is both a constitutional and personal mandate: "Each of these cases wounds our souls and commits us further to continuing to work towards a more just society."
Source: Google News DO — Crime