Dateline: Oct 23

Dateline tomorrow heads to the Dominican Republic to investigate the under age sex trade.

The Dominican Republic is known for its warm weather and white beaches, but it’s the darker side of this Caribbean paradise that’s attracting tourists in record numbers.

It’s quickly gaining a reputation as a major destination for international sex tourists, with one of the highest per capita prostitution rate in the world. One in four of those selling sex are thought to be under age.

This Tuesday, Dateline travels to the Dominican capital, Santo Domingo, to investigate this burgeoning underage sex trade. We find out what’s driving it, who it’s affecting most and what’s being done to stop it.

Seventeen-year old Candy has been selling sex since she was 14. “They are mostly tourists. They pay me good money because they like a body like mine. I tell them [about my age] because often telling the truth gets more money”, she reveals.

Supiro is a sex worker who helps children involved in the sex trade. He says it’s not just young girls at risk of exploitation. ‘They want to try a Dominican boy, a young boy. In their country, they can’t do that. They can live out their fantasy here”. Supiro tells Dateline.

The sordid state of under-age sex trade can be explained by the country’s high poverty rate and non-enforcement of prostitution laws. Tourists who frequent the country for sex use these reasons to their advantage.

An anonymous tourist tells Dateline, “The cops, they are rotten. It’s a poor country. People need to eat. The tourists bring the chica (female sex workers) to lunch, to have a good meal. They’re happy. You know how much they can make a day? If you stop sex here, it will be empty”.

But for many prostitutes in Santo Domingo, sex work isn’t a matter of choice. It’s survival. Sex worker Candy told Dateline, her entire family relies on her income, “My son needs nappies and I don’t have money, I can’t relax until I get the money”

But there are some giving hope to the thousands of underage sex workers across the country.

Xiamara, a school teacher, gives her time to help get young female sex workers off the street and into education. “We have a project for girls who wish to change direction in their lives” says Xiamara.

The efforts of the likes of Xiamara are not futile. Many girls are now on the lookout for a better future. Candy has started attending school again. “Thank God I’m studying now. When I finish I want to work in a call centre”, she adds.

Tuesday 23 October 9.30pm on SBS.