Hobbiest in The Dominican Republic, Soliciting is now Illegal

[b821332]

From DR1.com


Soliciting prostitutes outlawed in Dominican Republic

Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito has announced that soliciting the services of a prostitute in the Dominican Republic is now against the law. The authorities have been tolerant towards prostitution in the past. Dominguez Brito announced that men caught soliciting the services of a prostitute would be arrested and files on them would be recorded in the judiciary.

Dominguez Brito said that the government would intervene in prostitution centers that are located on George Washington (Malecon), Sarasota, Duarte, and Ortega y Gasset avenues in Santo Domingo and Calle Del Sol in Santiago. "Whoever takes advantage of the poverty of a woman in a situation of vulnerability, the law establishes clearly and rates this as pimping," said Dominguez.

He made the statement during the Corripio Communications Group Weekly Luncheon event, which was also attended by Major General Jose Armando Polanco Gomez, Minister of Interior and Police Jose Ramon Fadul and deputy minister of Interior and Police Washington Gonzalez.

Dominguez Brito said they would not be penalizing sex workers, as reported in El Dia. The attorney general said that his office would be sending people to patrol the areas, "so that people know they are there." Dominguez Brito clarified only the clients would be arrested and sent to justice, not the prostitutes.

 

[b821332]

I have no evidence to support these statements. It is a post in DR1.con

Cracking down on prostitution in Sosua

The new Ministry of Tourism provincial director for Puerto Plata province, Lorenzo Sancassani says that every effort is being made to reduce the impact of prostitution in Sosua and the north coast. He said that the authorities' priority right now is to back businesses that promote legitimate travel offers. As reported in Hoy, he said that meetings have been held with the new police commander in the area and the new director of Politur for plans to take action to tackle the problem.

"The Ministry of Tourism and the Prosecutor General Office are coordinating actions aimed at controlling the problem and guaranteeing surroundings where we can restore domestic tourism and family tourism," said Sancassani. He said that plans were afoot to develop the Maritime Park project in Sosua beach, with a focus on diving in the Sosua Bay. He added that they would be working towards relocating vendors, and for introducing new signage for taxis to crack down on unauthorized 'pirate' taxis, as well as preventing chaos and crime.

I was very pleased to read the statements of the new Provincial Director of Tourism in the above piece taken from today's DR1 News Summary.

I am sure that we will be flooded with posts from those that say whores are the saviors of Sosua, but I am sure that the majority of those who live here wish those making the effort well.

I think that between the Mayor, new Tourism Director, and the apparent commitment of the national government to help Sosua that some positive things are going to happen.

 

[freedom3]

Wikepedia:

HIV prevalence in the country's estimated 100,000 female sex workers ranges from 2.5% to 12.4%, depending on the locale.[9]

 

[b821332]

I am not sure I believe the HIV statistics but I have no evidence to refute them either.

I suppose that is yet another reason to go with adult vacation providers who do periodic
lab tests on their girls.

Otherwise it is cheap Do-it-Yourself HIV Project.

I have a Dominican novia, so I do not vacation as it were or pick up any stray perra.

In any case hobbiests grossly exaggerate the ease at which you can find a girl and then
get her into the hotel in which they booked their vacation.

For example there are NO girls in Punta Cana and the hotels do not cooperate.

 

[backrubman]

...
In any case hobbiests grossly exaggerate the ease at which you can find a girl and then
get her into the hotel in which they booked their vacation.
For example there are NO girls in Punta Cana and the hotels do not cooperate.

Sure they do and finding a lady is less challenging then locating a pineapple. You just have to be straightforward, honest and open (and hablar español) which is something that is so culturally far and away from the way people act and think in Canada tourists have a hard time doing this. Even in the most family oriented resorts as long as the manager is onside (and he will be if you speak to him) and he knows you will not make a spectacle the hotel will cooperate by holding the lady's Cédula de identidad until she leaves without incident. The new soliciting law is a good one as the ladies are still allowed to solicit you (if they like).

 

[b821332]

I think you missed the point.

You are telling me that when a PN or PoliTur happens on a tourist and a SP he will implicitly understand
or assume that the SP started the conversation.
The view is moot because the SP will have moved elsewhere. Where? Also the point!

Vacation providers routinely get panic telephone calls from guys who found that no girls were available
requesting a SP be delivered to hotels that are extremely uncooperative under those circumstances.

Hotels in Punta Cana and also Santo Domingo require the room be booked as a double in advance
with real names of the BOTH guests. A lot of girls do not even have ID/Cedula.

Not making mistakes takes experience. Experience comes from making mistakes.

DS

 

[backrubman]

Hotels in Punta Cana and also Santo Domingo require the room be booked as a double in advance
with real names of the BOTH guests. A lot girls do not even have ID/Cedula.

Huh? No cedula in the DR? That's a sure way to be on a bus to Haiti that very evening... everyone risks being deported to Haiti if they don't have a cedula so I assure you they all do! And if it is an all inclusive (or offers any amenities only to defacto guests for that matter) then she must be a defacto guest, certainly the hotel would take a dim view of the lady coming on the property UNLESS you go and buy her a day pass or evening pass first and in the case of a gated resort the management then calls up to the gate and makes sure she is on the list. Then it is "no hay problema".

Last all inclusive I stayed at I spoke to the manager, paid for the pass, he happily called the front gate and added her to the list and when she arrived she surrendered her cedula and was given a wrist band. Of course if you try to do it without being open and completely honest about it then comes the "problems". Being open and honest about what you are up to doesn't even occur to Canadians when it comes to this business as they are used to sneaking around but the attitude is completely different in the DR.

If a lady ever tells you she has no cedula there are only three possibilities. 1. She is lying. 2. She is in the country illegally. or 3. She is underage.
all of which you want nothing to do with.

 

[b821332]

Backrubman.

It seems that you have a procedure that works for you.

Vacation providers have staff who work closely with the hotel to get good rate and for quality rooms.
When the vacation is planned in advance things go very well.

Just a question, who has more pull with hotel management 10 individual guys looking for help with a chica
or one Spanish speaking guy looking for 10 rooms in addition to the hundreds of rooms booked over the past year?

The later gets a good price on the rooms in addition to upgrades to suites.

What works for you does not necessarily work for everyone.

I have a Dominican girlfriend and we have no problems with the hotels we frequent.

DS

 

[b821332]

Travel to Punta Cana

To prove my point I contacted a high end (adult vacation) provider for the Dominican Republic.

He states that he gets calls every day and often several calls a day from tourists in RD looking for girls they cannot find.
The callers are both vacationers just looking for a girl and also guys who traveled and believed that girls were easy to find.

This is frustrating for the provider because at least some of the callers would have booked had they known before they made arrangements for their vacations.

Most the callers looking for girls had traveled to Punta Cana but also all around the island.

If you KNOW what you are doing so be it. Otherwise a little planning may make you vacation.

The Attorney General of RD is trying to make a name for himself by clamping down on prostitution.

Dominguez Brito says that the government is working to reduce sex trafficking in Sosua, Cabarete, Boca Chica and Las Terrenas.


DS

 

[backrubman]

To prove my point I contacted a high end (adult vacation) provider for the Dominican Republic.
He states that he gets calls every day and often several calls a day from tourists in RD looking for girls they cannot find.
The callers are both vacationers just looking for a girl and also guys who traveled and believed that girls were easy to find.

I hear what you are saying. It must be "hell" for any guy that goes there with expectations and doesn't hablar español.

The Dominican Republic is ranked #4 in the world for prostitution and it isn't just popular it's part of the culture that has little to do with servicing gringos (but the gringos tend to view it as that and don't realize that most of their clients are local Dominican men). Many Dominican men are the worst skilled, most selfish there ever was so it's no mystery why they have to pay for it

I agree with them making it illegal to solicit as some ladies that might appear so are not and don't need to be harassed and there is so much of it going on in some areas (visibly) it does keep the family oriented tourists away (or keep them from coming back).

I am often annoyed by the heavy traffic in one part of town when trying to get where I am going which is a direct result of several large brothels and a concentration of rooms for rent by the hour in that area.

All any "gringo" has to do is ask any english speaking taxi driver to take him to a nice brothel (the brothel will even give him a little kick back much as a souvenir shop might so he is only too happy to accommodate and even serve as a translator).

The gringo won't be "soliciting" them, when they see him coming the ladies will fight over him

I guess the trouble is that it just wouldn't occur to most gringos to be so open and direct but rest assured the taxi driver knows where to find what the gringo wants and won't even bat an eye
As hard as it might be to believe, "Take me to the brothel" should get no more of a reaction than "take me to the airport" and seem no more unusual to the taxista (cabbie).

 

[b821332]

What do we know now?

We cannot make any assumptions. The situation has changed somewhat and you cannot assume that what you understood about the past will apply to the future.

If you speak Spanish and can deal with a complete change of travel plans, then go for it.

If you do not speak Spanish then I would do extensive planning before I traveled or go somewhere else.

Any advice that things have not changed and everything is fine is not, or no longer, valid.

Please note that I get nothing here. I am trying to help out you guys.

It is not possible for me to get caught up in any crack down, I have an attractive girlfriend who is not now and never was a SP.
I also have many friends who are members of Policia Nacional including one retired BGen. (Chief of Police)

DS

 

[backrubman]

Everything in Sosúa (and everywhere else in the DR) still remains unchanged (as of today)

This of course is not surprising... the government is well known for its ability to take "all talk and no action" to a new level in this country.

 

[rgkv]

What about places like blackbeards, I have stayed there and it was a blast

www.blackbeardsadultresort.com

 

[b821332]

There have been reports of arrests of tourist soliciting in the usual area of Sto Dgo.
No reports concerning other areas.

Blackbeards is OK I guess but they make absolutely no promises.
They say they have no girls. The rooms, food and drinks are all a la carte.
They assume that this will protect them in some way. It does not protect them in any way.