In the Dominican Republic, Archbishop of Santo Domingo, Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez, and Archbishop of Santiago de los Caballeros, Monsignor Ramón de la Rosa y Carpio, had a two-hour meeting with the nation’s president Leonel Fernández, where they denounced the “international scandal” of violence against women in the Caribbean nation.

An estimated 1,000 women have been murdered there in the past five years, and only 4% of the 62,000 reported cases of violence against women went to trial in 2010. In 2012, over 100 women have been murdered. The last case in the country led to a rally in front of Congress asking for tougher sanctions against those who commit violence against women.

The president himself has spoken about this as the main problem facing the country and the Church has expressed concern about on the problem of violence against women on several occasions. Both religious leaders called for a review of public policies to stop this serious social problem. They see crimes against women as a terrible human drama. The Archbishop of Santiago has attributed this serious problem to factors such as inadequate education and machismo.

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