More than 300 000 children in the Dominican Republic are being forced to work in order to survive and in order to feed themselves, which represents 12 percent of all children in the country between the age of 5 and 17-years-old. 

The country’s Ministry of Labor has denounced the child-labor networks operating in the country that are devoted to exploiting the children and their young age. According to Agenzia Fides, many children work as bricklayers in large buildings of Santo Domingo, and the provinces of Barahona, Pedernales and Duarte which have the highest rate of child labor.

The Dominican Republic government continues to provide assurances that they are tackling the problem.  By establishing the ‘Hemisferica Sobre Trabajo Decente’ they are looking to eliminate the worst forms of child labor by 2015 and by 2020 have this social ill completely eliminated.