Sexual encounters in private between two adults are legal.[1] Although homosexuality was decriminalized, LGBT Dominicans still endure discrimination and violence due to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. In a 2014 poll, almost three quarters, 73%, of people in the Dominican Republic alone have said that members of the LGBT community have experienced some sort of violence or discrimination. Members of the LGBT Community in the Dominican Republic are victims of hate crimes, extortion by the police, and discrimination when it comes to resources and employment services. They also face discrimination when seeking treatment from health care systems.[2] Between 2006 and August 2015, there have been 32 reports of possible hate crimes against transgender people.[3]:5
Due to employment discrimination against LGBT members, many transgender women resort to sex work.[2] A local NGO counted 17 cases of police violence and discrimination against transgender women sex workers between December 2013 and October 2014.[3]:6
Homosexuality in the Dominican Republic was decriminalized in 1822.[4]