Protecting children.
Restoring hope.
The Dominican Republic is one of the most heavily trafficked nations in the Caribbean. Children are among the most vulnerable. HOPE Life Global is working to change that through a safe home for survivors, prevention education, and partnerships with the organizations on the front lines.
What's happening in the Dominican Republic
The U.S. State Department's 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report places the Dominican Republic on the Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year, meaning the government does not fully meet the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking and is not making enough progress. Here is what the data shows.
Children are targeted
The Dominican Republic is a known destination for sex tourists, primarily from North America and Europe, who travel there to exploit children. Traffickers recruit teenage girls through social media and WhatsApp, luring them with false promises of work or a better life. Children are forced into domestic service, street vending, begging, and even moving illicit narcotics.
The vulnerable are invisible
More than 100,000 Dominicans of Haitian descent are effectively stateless because identity-document laws have not been fairly implemented. Without legal status, they cannot access school, formal work, or protection from deportation, making them easy targets for traffickers who exploit their fear and isolation.
The gap in survivor care
Rescue is only the first step. The government's child-protection agency (CONANI) operates shelters for up to 450 children, but there are not enough specialized homes for trafficking survivors. The few safe homes that exist are often far from the tourist centers where children are exploited, and specialized trauma care is inconsistent and underfunded. Children who are rescued need a place to go, and right now there simply are not enough of those places.
Source: U.S. State Department, 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report: Dominican Republic
A safe home for survivors
When a child is rescued from trafficking, the hours and days that follow are critical. But right now in the Dominican Republic, there are not enough safe homes equipped to give minor survivors the specialized, trauma-informed care they need to heal.
HOPE Life Global is working toward opening a safe home for minor survivors rescued in the Dominican Republic, a place where children find security, counseling, education, and the slow, patient work of restoration. We are in the foundational stages: building relationships, developing the care model, and seeking partners and resources to make it real.
This is not something we can do alone. We are seeking to partner with established anti-trafficking and survivor-care organizations who already have boots on the ground, so that together we can offer children a path from rescue to restored life.
Stopping trafficking before it starts
The State Department report notes that there is a widespread lack of understanding of trafficking among the general Dominican population. Education is one of the most powerful tools we have to protect children before they are ever harmed.
Community education
We teach parents, youth, and community leaders how traffickers operate, including the false promises, the grooming, and the social-media recruitment, so families can recognize danger and protect their own.
Church & ministry training
Local churches and ministries are often the first to see the signs. We train leaders to identify vulnerable children, respond with care, and connect them to safe resources and reporting pathways.
Awareness campaigns
We share the reality of trafficking through workshops, social media, and community events, because an informed community is a child's first line of defense.
Reporting pathways
We help communities understand how and where to report suspected trafficking, connecting them to the national hotline and trusted local authorities who can intervene.
We don't do this alone
Fighting trafficking requires a network. HOPE Life Global works to assist and partner with established anti-trafficking rescue and awareness organizations that conduct rescues, provide survivor care, and lead prevention work in the Dominican Republic and beyond. Rather than duplicating what already works, we come alongside these organizations to strengthen their reach and impact.
If your organization works in anti-trafficking rescue, survivor care, or prevention education, we would love to connect. Reach out to us.
How you can help
This is long, hard, necessary work, and it takes all of us. Here are real ways you can stand with children in the Dominican Republic.
Give
Your gift funds the safe home, prevention education, and survivor care. Every dollar moves us closer to opening doors.
Partner
Connect us with credible anti-trafficking organizations, DR-based ministries, or funders who share this vision.
Host awareness
Invite HOPE to teach a trafficking-awareness session at your church, school, or community group.
Pray
Pray for the children, the rescuers, the caregivers, and the day our safe home opens its doors.
If you suspect human trafficking, contact the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text HELP to 233733. In the Dominican Republic, report to the national anti-trafficking hotline *3372 or PETT.