Families

The new Criminal Code (Ley 74-25), in force since August 2026, places children and adolescents in the category of specially protected victims. Whenever the victim is a minor, the criminal response rises: blows causing serious injury go from 5-10 to 10-20 years Art. 147·Ley 74-25; harassment is aggravated to greater imprisonment (prisión mayor) Art. 122·Ley 74-25; sexual assault by an adult against a minor reaches 20 to 30 years Art. 134, Párr. III·Ley 74-25; sharing intimate content of a minor carries major imprisonment Art. 192·Ley 74-25.

Two further protections are worth knowing. First: sexual offenses against minors expire only 30 years counted from the victim's coming of age Art. 141·Ley 74-25. Second: denying access to education on discriminatory grounds is a crime Art. 173.5·Ley 74-25, and the childhood law already prohibited denying education for lack of documents or of resources Art. 45·Ley 136-03 (Ley 136-03 — the Code for the Protection of Children and Adolescents).

Protection in the school is a chain of duties backed by law, not a gesture of goodwill. All staff — in public and private schools alike — are required to report knowledge or suspicion of a situation of abuse Art. 14·Ley 136-03 Art. 11·Ordenanza 05-2023 (Ordenanza 05-2023 — the school-coexistence rules of MINERD, the Dominican Ministry of Education), and failing to report ill-treatment or sexual offenses against a minor is a crime, punishable by 2 to 3 years Art. 325·Ley 74-25.

Reports of abuse must be forwarded to the Ministerio Público (the public prosecution service) or to the Consejo Nacional para la Niñez y la Adolescencia (CONANI, the national council for childhood and adolescence) within a maximum of 24 hours Art. 42·Código de Ética MINERD (the Código de Ética — the MINERD code of ethics, Orden Departamental 22/2023). Every school must have mediation teams Art. 10·Ordenanza 05-2023, an Ethics Commission that receives and documents reports Arts. 29-37·Código de Ética MINERD and a register of reports (Libro de Registro de Denuncias) Art. 46·Ordenanza 05-2023.

And whoever reports in good faith is protected: the law declares them exempt from criminal and civil liability for the information they provide Art. 14·Ley 136-03.

A lot of noise circulates here; it is worth saying it with the articles in hand. A child under 13 is never criminally responsible: they cannot be detained, deprived of liberty or sanctioned by any authority Art. 223·Ley 136-03. Between the ages of 13 and 17 — Art. 225 specifies: up to and including the day they turn 18 —, they answer before the criminal justice system for adolescents Art. 225·Ley 136-03, with a specialized court and prosecutor's office whose legal purpose is “education, rehabilitation and social integration” Art. 326·Ley 136-03.

In practice: socio-educational sanctions and orders of guidance and supervision Art. 327·Ley 136-03; deprivation of liberty is exceptional Art. 336·Ley 136-03 and its home-based and free-time forms must not affect attendance at school Arts. 337-338·Ley 136-03. The prison sentences you read about in the press are for adults.

Responsibility without fear, then: there will be real consequences, designed to correct course without cancelling your child's school future. Your role is to accompany the process: the family that shows up, listens and follows up is the best protective factor in that system.

The Code treats your child's image and privacy as protected goods in their own right. Sharing intimate content of a minor carries major imprisonment Art. 192, Párr. II·Ley 74-25; faked montages are a crime Art. 192, Párr. I·Ley 74-25; disclosing a minor's image or data in a way that stigmatizes them or harms their development is a crime Art. 186, Párr. III·Ley 74-25. The law punishes false or altered images, videos or audio “by means of montages or by any other form”: that open-ended wording reaches montages made with artificial intelligence, even though the Code does not name them.

And this reaches adults' conduct too. Posting the photo of the classmate “who did something” to your child may be, precisely, sharing a minor's image in a stigmatizing way Art. 186, Párr. III·Ley 74-25. Threatening a teacher over WhatsApp falls within the offense of threat Art. 154·Ley 74-25 — and if it is to force an act of their duties in a public school, the penalty is 5 to 10 years Art. 309·Ley 74-25.

The good news: well-founded criticizm of the public education service is not a crime — as regards public officials, only expressions that affect their intimate or private life, or that are manifestly insulting or defamatory, are prosecuted Art. 211, Párr. II·Ley 74-25. Complain firmly — through the school's leadership, the Dirección Distrital (the district education office) and the Dirección Regional (the regional education office), not through the WhatsApp group. Going too far, however, may still entail civil liability Art. 211·Ley 74-25.

The Normas de Convivencia (the school-coexistence rules) define families as allies of the school Art. 13·Ordenanza 05-2023. That alliance works better when you know what to ask for:

• Ask for the school's coexistence rulebook (Reglamento de Convivencia): it must exist, be updated every year and be shared with families at the start of the school year Art. 14·Ordenanza 05-2023.
• Ask about the channels: who sits on the Ethics Commission? How is a report filed? The parents' association holds a seat on that Commission Arts. 29-37·Código de Ética MINERD.
• Document it in writing: what happened, when, who was there, whom you told and what answer you received.
• Use the appeal route: measures for serious and very serious offenses can be appealed in writing before the school and, at second instance, before the Comité Distrital de Revisión de Medidas (the district measures-review committee) — you have 48 working hours from receiving the communication — and afterwards before the Comité Regional (the regional committee) Arts. 41-45·Ordenanza 05-2023.
• Sign consent forms carefully: outings and field trips require written authorization from the school and from families, with accompaniment by teachers and by mothers and fathers Art. 12·Código de Ética MINERD. Your informed signature is part of the protection system.
• Keep up to date who may collect your child. The school must hand them over only to whoever has legal custody: taking or keeping a minor outside recognized rights is a crime Art. 220·Ley 74-25, as is breaching a protection order Art. 133·Ley 74-25 — if one exists, notify the school.

1. Talk about the law as a shield, not as a threat. “If something happens to you, the law is on your side and there are adults obliged to help you” teaches more than “they'll put you in jail”.
2. Agree a family rule about posting: nobody posts another person's image — inside or outside the family — without asking first. Modelling it yourself counts double.
3. Build the habit of telling without immediate punishment: if your child tells you something serious they saw or did, listen all the way through before reacting. Information that arrives early is the information that protects.
4. Keep digital evidence without spreading it: dated screenshots, conversations, names. Handing it to the right channel protects; publishing it can expose you Art. 186, Párr. III·Ley 74-25.
5. Remember that disciplining is not a crime. The education and discipline of children by parents or guardians, in the exercise of parental authority and respecting the principle of the best interests of the child, does not constitute a violation of the article on domestic or intrafamily violence Art. 124, Párr. IV·Ley 74-25. Correcting firmly and without violence is, at once, good parenting and full compliance with the law.

“Correcting my children at home is now intrafamily violence”

Reality — No. The education and discipline of children by parents or guardians, in the exercise of parental authority and respecting the principle of the best interests of the child, does not constitute a violation of the article on domestic or intrafamily violence Art. 124, Párr. IV·Ley 74-25. What is a crime is physical force, systematic humiliation or intimidation Arts. 124-126·Ley 74-25.

“Reporting what happens in the school is optional; the school decides”

Reality — Reporting knowledge or suspicion of abuse is mandatory for teachers and principals, in public and private schools alike Art. 14·Ley 136-03, and failing to report ill-treatment of a minor is a crime Art. 325·Ley 74-25. If you suspect the school stayed silent, the duty to report reaches “any other person” too — you included — and is exercised before the competent authorities Art. 14·Ley 136-03: the Ministerio Público or CONANI (Código de Ética, Orden 22/2023, Art. 42). Through the administrative route, MINERD must maintain reporting mechanisms at the school, the district and the regional office Art. 50·Ley 136-03.

“They can deny a place or expel a child for lacking a birth certificate or missing a payment”

Reality — No. Education cannot be denied for lack of identity documents or of resources Art. 45·Ley 136-03; non-payment is not grounds for sanction or expulsion during the school year Art. 48·Ley 136-03 Art. 26·Ordenanza 05-2023.