By Nanami Haruyama
Each day, 10 women are murdered in Mexico. The numbers continue to increase yearly and more than 950 women were killed in the first four months of 2020. Along with the COVID-19 pandemic, Mexico faces another grave issue: femicides.
According to the World Health Organization, femicides are defined as the “intentional murder of women because they are women.” During the 1990s, the first cases of femicides were recorded in Ciudad Juárez where hundreds of women were murdered or went missing. Since then, the number of cases has exponentially grown and in the past five years, the rate of femicide has doubled.
Why do the numbers continue to grow? Two key factors can be identified as the roots: the government’s unresponsiveness and systemic impunity.
Mexico’s current president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, also known as AMLO, remains indifferent to the growing issue of femicides. Since he stepped into office in 2018, he has failed to provide a roadmap to tackle the issue or even identify femicides as a national concern. Additionally, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the administration cut the budgets for the federal women’s institute, which works to address women’s issues, by 75%. He has also significantly cut funding for women’s shelters - places where women can flee from domestic violence - during this time. Political scientists believe that the counterproductive and rather damaging agenda of AMLO is due to the president’s belief of feminist movements being a political threat. In March, when asked to comment on the 26,000 reports of violence against women, he stated that “Ninety percent of those calls that you’re referring to are fake”. He expanded on his answer proclaiming that the violence was on account of the “the neoliberal model” and that the “conservatives are dressing up as feminists” to attack him.
Systemic impunity refers to a system where oppressors are exempted from punishment and are liberated from any consequences there may be. In Mexico, impunity perpetrates society and takes forms in high levels of corruption to myriad cases of violation in human rights. In the context of femicides, impunity is evident as a large portion of cases goes unreported and unsolved. According to a 2018 National Survey on Victimization and Perception of Public Security (ENVIPE), there were over 16 million cases of violence against women but only 1 million cases were investigated. Even when the cases are reported, the lack of statistical data hinders the process of investigations and delays victims of any access to justice. Furthermore, authority figures often dismiss women’s testimonies as being exaggerated or invalid and their accounts are not taken into consideration. The foundation for such inequality is rooted in a patriarchal system that fails to protect the integrity and life of women.
February of this year, two cases of femicides fueled a national campaign to shed light on the severity of violence against women. The first case involved 25-year-old Ingrid Escamilla who was murdered in Mexico City. A week later, the second case took place with 7-year-old Fatima Aldrighetti who was kidnapped, tortured, and brutally killed. In response to these events, the first-ever nationwide demonstration against gender-based violence took place on March 8, 2020, in honor of International Women’s Day. Tens of thousands of individuals flooded the streets and wore the color purple or green to demonstrate their support for the movement. The following day on March 9, women unified under the statement #UnDíaSinNosotros (¨A day without us¨) to display what a world without women would look like and how detrimental it would be. It aimed to draw further attention to the femicides and the overall sexist structures in Mexico. Women left work, skipped school, stayed home, and broadcasted that without women, Mexico would not function.
What can be done to eradicate femicides and gender violence? The first approach is to reinforce the surveillance of violence on a large scale. Aforementioned, when there is little reliable, accurate data, it becomes increasingly harder to investigate the crimes. Such a collection of information can come from the police, medical examiners, courts, etc. Furthermore, documenting the relationship between the victim and perpetrator could help understand the social context of femicides. The second strategy is to better train the health staff. From mortuary staff to hospital workers, encouraging cooperation among medical staff can help gather information such as abuse history or abuse patterns. Research has shown that improving the detection of partner violence in a health system can reduce the risk of femicides. Another tactic is to educate the police force on femicides and the importance of documenting the cases. Especially in Mexico where a large portion of the cases are not recorded, this would largely facilitate case examinations. This idea could also imply stricter regulations on persecuting perpetrators for their actions.
We must continue to raise awareness of the issue of femicides. We must break the silence against femicides. We must fight for the protection of women’s rights.
Works Cited
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jul/22/mexico-femicides-president-amlo-women-shelters
https://www.csis.org/analysis/femicides-mexico-impunity-and-protests
https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/english/10-women-are-murdered-mexico-every-day
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/05/americas/mexico-femicide-coronavirus-lopez-obrador-intl/index.html
https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/77421/WHO_RHR_12.38_eng.pdf;jsessionid=DDB0BC3580721A41E5ADA9A169AEAC21?sequence=1
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/05/mexico-femicide-emergency-activists
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/1085985/1930_1343058124_cddandcmdpdh-forthesession-mexico-cedaw52.pdf
https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/english/impunity-machine-crimes-against-women-do-not-matter-mexico
https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2017/11/feature-prosecuting-femicide-in-mexico
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