Silent Battles: Fighting Gender Violence in Mexico

“I have every right to burn down and destroy whatever I want, and I’m not going to ask for anyone’s permission. Because before they murdered my daughter, they murdered many, many others"

“I have every right to burn down and destroy whatever I want, and I’m not going to ask for anyone’s permission. Because before they murdered my daughter, they murdered many, many others,” - is only a single comment of many reported on the news concerning the worsening landscape for women in Mexico today (Ramos). Femicide and other gender-based violence in Mexico are deeply ingrained issues that stem from colonial times. A large number of regimes have been installed to aid the prevention of such violence against women, and a judgment of how successful they have been is necessary to understand the depth of this problem and allow for new ideas in fighting against the issue. The Women’s Rights Regime (WRR) has been largely unsuccessful in preventing gender-based violence and femicide in Mexico, mostly due to the issues with the Mexican justice system and a lack of commitment to laws established to protect women. Despite the Prosecutor’s Office set up for gender crimes, brutal acts are still committed against women on a large scale in Mexico.

Femicide is an act of violence driven by the ideas of sex and gender, referring to the killing of women based on either their social or biological gender and the characteristics attributed to it. This term specifically is used to describe the misogynistic murders of women and girls for the sole reason of being female (Guzmán). This killing is also defined as sexual violence, on par with rape and assault. Hereby, these terms co-exist as gender-based violence (GBV) against women as an effect of male desire for dominance, power, and control (Radford 3). Primarily, this notion of femicide was introduced to politicize male violence against women and acquire a term for the previously undefined crime (Grzyb, Magdalena, et al. 21).

The murder of a woman or girl is considered gender-based and is included in femicide statistics when one of seven criteria is met. It includes evidence of sexual violence before death, a sentimental, affective, or trusting relationship with the perpetrator; and the victim’s body being displayed in public (Adams). These crimes fall under the label of discrimination against women, which as defined by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is “any distinction, exclusion or restriction made based on sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women” (Ford). Regimes in general, which encompass the Women’s Rights Regime, involve negotiated

agreements that are made up of implicit or explicit principles, norms, rules, and decision-making procedures around which actors’ expectations connect in a given area of international relations (Haas). To ensure safety and freedom from violence for women, a large number of specialized agencies and treaties to protect women’s rights have been installed. These include, but are not limited to limited to, United Nations Women (UN Women) and CEDAW, which work towards ensuring safety for women worldwide, including Mexican women.

Mexico has voted to adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), in which Article 3 reads “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.” In addition to ratifying these protocols and codifying the UDHR into law, the Mexican government adopted “the General Law on Women’s Access to a Life Free of Violence” (GLWALFFV) in 2007 which aims to prevent, punish, and eradicate all violence against women and girls. Within this decree, femicide is mentioned specifically in Chapter 5, articles 21 through 23, whereby it is acknowledged and certain preventative and judicial measures are outlined (The Honorable Congress of the Union). The General Law on Women’s Access to a Life Free From Violence (sp. Ley General de Acceso de las Mujeres a Una Vida Libre de Violencia) was established after a feminist study concluded that GBV is extremely prevalent in the ten states that they investigated, and should therefore be criminalized. Legislators created this law as a national framework, integrating CEDAW and the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (DEVAW), which was entered into force in 2007 (García-Del Moral and Neumann).

CEDAW specifically is a treaty that was adopted by the United Nations (UN) in 1979 and was the first convention that comprehensively addressed women's rights within political, cultural, economic, social, and family life. It requires governments to take a variety of actions to guarantee women’s rights and safety, such as ensuring access to all fields of education equal to men and women (Article 10) and mandating an end to employment discrimination, as mentioned in Article 11 (Ford). Mexico ratified this optional protocol in 2002, therefore making CEDAW’s rules applicable within the state. In articles 2.5 and 2.6, CEDAW says that the government is mandated to “take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women by any person, organization or enterprise,” and to “take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices which constitute discrimination against women,” (United Nations “Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women New York”). This includes outlawing GBV and femicide.

Similarly, UN Women is a UN agency established in 2010 that is dedicated to promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women implements programs at regional, state, and global levels through collaboration with both government entities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). They work towards creating an environment where women can exercise their human rights and live up to their full potential (UN Women: About Us). De jure, women in Mexico are protected from femicide and other forms of GBV, however, de facto it is still prevalent and can be seen in multiple cases today and in recent years.

The issues of femicide, sexual, and otherwise, violent behavior towards women take root in the colonial history of Mexico. Violence against women’s bodies was a commonly used weapon of terror and a part of warfare, whereby Spanish soldiers kidnapped and raped indigenous women during their conquering of the Americas. During the invasion and institutionalization of Spanish colonialism, Native American women were seen solely as sexual beings that were freely available, which allowed for the assertion of male domination within the state. Paired with the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, this shaped Mexican and South American culture into a conservative, patriarchal society with clearly divided gender roles (Guzmán). This violent history of female oppression allowed for the patriarchal systems of government, with the repercussions leading to large numbers of femicide, rape, and assault in Mexico today. It is believed that the present-day issue of femicide took a violent turn with Ciudad Juárez in the late 20th century, the town on the border of the United States (US) and Mexico, where more than 370 young women and girls were violently murdered, and over seventy went missing, by 2005 (Amnesty International, “Mexico: Intolerable Killings” 10).

In Mexico, femicide has been a longstanding issue. Methodologically speaking, focusing on the range of dates from 2007 and 2023 allows for the recognition of long-term trends and recent developments, specifically the consequences of the implementation of GLWALFFV that took place in 2007. Ever since, femicide and GBV have both increased and decreased, hence the closing date of 2023.

Even though femicide and other forms of gender-based violence have been common in Mexico ever since colonial times, according to Cristina Rivera Garza, the issue of femicide reached a boiling point in 2019. Garza is a Mexican author who studied urban sociology and received a Ph. D. in Latin American history (Fellow). Her origin in terms of nationality is both a

value and a limitation since it showcases her personal relationship with the issue of femicide in Mexico, and how it may hinder her objectivity and make her more knowledgeable on the subject at the same time. In August 2019, four police officers were accused of raping a seventeen-year-old girl and were not apprehended by the authorities, sparking backlash from Mexican women. The protestors held banners that read “If you violate women, we will violate your laws,” which allowed for the reignition of women’s mobilization against GBV in present-day Mexico (Garza 51). Following anti-femicide protests by Mexican women, more cases have been reported than ever. For example, the discovery of a teenager’s body, Debanhi Susana Escobar Bazaldúa, in a water tank ignited nationwide protests that called for a response from the government, highlighting the 1000 women murdered in 2021. In 2020, the reported number of femicides was 997, but by 2021 the number only rose (Phillips and Perlmutter). After the murder of the girl found in the water tank, Edith Olivares Ferreto, the executive director of Amnesty International in Mexico, commented: “Eleven women are killed in this country every day. We have at least 20,000 women who are missing in Mexico,” (Phillips and Perlmutter). This commentary shows the severity of femicide and the large amounts of anecdotal evidence that presents it.

Looking over several recent cases as anecdotal evidence, the murder of Mónica Citlalli Díaz stands out. Díaz was a daughter, a sister, and an English teacher who did not arrive at her job on one November afternoon in 2022. She was missing for six days before her body was found amidst shrubbery along a highway; later classified and investigated as a case of femicide. Additionally, another case that garnered national attention was the case of Diana Velázquez, a candy vendor, whose body was found strangled, beaten, and raped in front of a warehouse in 2017 (Sánchez). Another recent case is the femicide of Jazmín Zárate, a 27-year-old singer, with her body discovered on the day of her birthday with multiple stab wounds. Zárate herself participated in feminist action, through both her songs and social media presence (Guillén). These are just cases most covered by the media, so it is essential to note that the average number of women murdered daily is ten and the cases above do not represent the full horror and brutality of femicide in Mexico (Sánchez).

Despite the continuous public outrage and protests, these numbers continued to rise as seen in statistical evidence. Gender violence, in all its forms, reached its highest figure in 2022, when more than 5000 cases were reported, representing an increase of 235% compared to 2015. Fortunately, there was a 4.8% decrease in femicides specifically since 2021, demonstrating a hopeful beginning to culminating violence against women (Pérez). This representation of statistics in a news article can be interpreted as biased, seeing as how this specific layout leads the reader to the formation of a certain opinion. The data is collected from the Secretariado Ejecutivo del Sistema Nacional de Seguridad Pública (SESNSP), however, the purpose behind its presentation with the use of emotive language proves to be a limitation since it is leading in the opinion it pushes. Regardless, a value of this article would be its content, since it was taken from a national system of public security. Women and girls in Mexico have been experiencing violence, on occasion fatal, since the Spanish colonization of the Americas. This violence, on the sole basis of sex and gender, has been increasing recently due to the conservative and patriarchal nature of both the state and its government, with the number of reports reaching its peak in 2022.

Female deaths in Mexico display a strong correlation with intimate partner violence, with nearly one in five female homicides occurring in households compared to one in thirteen male homicides in the same situation. The recorded rise in reported femicides aligns with the increase in recorded family violence and sexual assault cases in Mexico over the past seven years, showcasing the severity of the issue (Adams). According to the data from the 2006 National Survey on the Dynamics of Household Relationships, more than 10% of Mexican women who are currently married, cohabiting, separated, or divorced have been subjected to sexual partner violence and more than 20 % have experienced physical violence from their current or previous

partner. More than half of all women who experienced intimate partner violence did not seek help from law enforcement, allowing for the violence to go unnoticed (Frías and Agoff). The prevalence of unreported domestic violence in Mexico leads to the perpetration of crimes against women and an increase in their severity, where household physical violence turns into femicide.

Currently, there are a multitude of feminist programs and organizations established in Mexico to focus on women’s rights, female empowerment, and the prevention of femicide. Two noteworthy advocacy NGOs are “Las Libres” (The Free Ones) and “Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa” (“May Our Daughters Return Home”) (NHRC). “Las Libres” aims to provide women with legal and medical services, especially for victims of GBV. It focuses on empowering indigenous, poorly educated, or low-income women. “Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa” seeks to fight the issue of femicide in Mexico. The organization demands justice for women by focusing on

returning the bodies of victims to their families for a proper burial and to bring the aggressors to justice. The NHRC informs state governments about human rights violations and demands accountability from the government. The NGO lobbies the government to allocate resources for victims of GBV, striving to prevent, punish, and eliminate it (5 NGOS PROMOTING GENDER EQUALITY IN MEXICO).

Gauging the success of the WRR in preventing femicide and other forms of gender-based violence in Mexico is challenging due to a multitude of factors. Even with the existence of organizations such as UN Women, CEDAW, NHRC, and Las Libres, a large number of femicides either go unreported or uninvestigated (Joseph 13). The main reason behind this is the Mexican legal and criminal justice system, wherein the police force and courts are not appropriately trained to deal with and investigate gender crimes. Regardless of the multiple existing agencies and treaties, there is still a prevalent systematic indifference toward violence against women. A large number of GBV cases are discarded by the police under the labels of “spontaneous” and/or “accidental”, often followed by claims that the women were either criminals or prostitutes in the first place (Joseph 13). The villainization of female victims by the justice system is often criticized by Mexican feminist NGOs. The prioritization of impunity over accountability is the centerpiece of the Mexican courts’ way of dealing with crimes against women, whereby only a few perpetrators are tried and let alone convicted. When the women who suffered the effects of male violence, are portrayed as the ones at fault for their suffering it allows for impunity to be granted easily for the perpetrators. The reasons behind this are varied, ranging from bribery and

threats towards the judges by the criminals to simply negligence towards the deaths of women (Joseph 14). These circulate alongside the climate of passivity and familiarity with brutal violence against women in Mexico and continue to feed the unwillingness to investigate these crimes (Joseph 14). The previously discussed paper on the legal and criminal justice responses to victims of femicide across Latin America by Janice Joseph mentions all Latin American countries and their respective ways of dealing with GBV, so its scope, through influencing its content, is a limitation since it is broad and does not provide in-depth analysis for one state. However, the purpose is to provide insight into issues with the justice system, showing some statistical data and research into the intricacies of judicial procedures in Latin America, making it

valuable. Additionally, a value of this report would be its origin, considering this is a report published in 2017, showcasing its recency.

An inherent problem with organizations such as UN Women, CEDAW, and NHRC is that the justice system prevents criminals from being properly punished, allowing the patriarchal and misogynistic culture in Mexico to fester and violence against women to increase. Social and cultural patterns of patriarchy and misogyny allow deep-rooted problems with the judicial system to remain, especially the wrongful classification of gender crimes that lead to smaller sentences and lesser sanctions (United Nations “ “We’re here to tell it:” Mexican women break silence over femicides.”). This is one of the primary reasons that, of the 1.7 million criminal cases that have been opened over the last eight years to prosecute people for beatings, strangulation, and other forms of violence that require physical contact, only 781 were labeled as attempted femicide. Categorizing these types of crimes as anything other than femicide results in lesser punishments and is therefore a failure of the judicial system to prosecute them as GBV. Despite overwhelming evidence of being more common, the issues of femicide and attempted femicide are downplayed, feeding the culture of impunity and preventing organizations associated with the WRR from achieving their goal of enforcing the rules identified in CEDAW (United Nations “ “We’re here to tell it:” ”). Even with the existence of women’s rights IGOs (inter-governmental organizations) and NGOs, such as CEDAW or NHRC, the domestic legal and criminal justice system in Mexico prioritizes impunity over punishment and accountability, therefore continuing to aid in theprevalence of femicides and other forms of GBV. A combination of social norms and issues within Mexico’s legal system means that the Women’s Rights Regime in Mexico has not been totally successful in preventing or eliminating femicide in Mexico.

Additionally, there has been a lack of state-level commitment to implement the General Law on Women’s Access to a Life Free From Violence which showcases the fact that the WRR has largely not been successful in preventing the widespread GBV and femicide in Mexico. Two years after the implementation of this law, it was noted by Amnesty International that the law has had no impact in most of Mexico’s states. 30 out of 32 states have passed the law, but only 5 have agreed to establish the mechanisms necessary. Since the basic requirements of the federal law have not received a commitment on the state level, little has been done to help women in the

vast majority of Mexican states (Amnesty International, “Mexico: two years on”). Additionally, the failure to implement this law is partly due to a missed deadline for legislative change. The second article of the GLWALFFV outlined that “The Federal Executive shall issue the Regulations of the law within 90 days following the entry into the force of the present Decree” (The Honorable Congress of the Union 4). Despite this deadline, these regulations were issued more than 300 days after the initial law. Furthermore, the eighth article states the need to enact change to the legislature within six months to ensure rapid action against femicide and other forms of violence against women, which some Mexican states have not adhered to (The Honorable Congress of the Union 7). The issue of resources has proven to slow the progress that the GLWALFFV aimed to achieve, despite the support from the federal government and organizations that play parts in the WRR. The law mandates the provision of women with shelters to aid them in escaping violence, however, due to the lack of commitment from state governments there is currently about one shelter per 900,000 women, according to a report by the UN Refugee Agency in 2016. Along with the law’s inability to guarantee the building of shelters, the aforementioned issue of the Mexican judicial system failing to aid victims of GBV has not disappeared. The Mexican government is unable to prosecute the crimes of sexual assault and murder due to their powerlessness in implementing the GLWALFFV on the state level, causing the vast majority of people committing gender crimes to go unpunished (Flatow). The

General Law on Women’s Access to a Life Free From Violence has failed in aiding the women of Mexico, showcasing how the Women’s Rights Regime has been largely unsuccessful in preventing femicide and GBV.

However, the Women’s Rights Regime can be seen as effective when dealing with some aspects of GBV, including femicide. Recently, there has been significant improvement in the areas of women’s rights and the great acknowledgment of femicide and other forms of GBV in Mexico, wherein the cases of femicide have recently decreased and a specific prosecutor’s office for gender crimes has been set up. One of the main reasons are the prosecutor’s offices that were set up for the sole purpose of combating gender crimes. Their impact on state-level prosecutorial procedures has been that, on average, the investigation of femicides increased by 50%. With the enabling of specific legal offices to focus on femicide and GBV, more murders became classified as femicides, allowing for them to be investigated as such (McGinnis., et al). Concerning the prosecutor’s offices set up to aid the crisis of GBV and femicide in Mexico, it can be seen that states which implemented the new prosecutorial procedures have more femicides investigated per capita than those that have not (McGinnis., et al). Mexican states that have established specific measures for the prosecution of gender crimes have a substantially greater number of femicides investigated and are more likely to classify female homicides as femicides when applicable (McGinnis., et al). In the year 2023, the number of femicides in Mexico has reduced in comparison to the previous year, wherein the months of January to April in 2022 there were thirty-nine registered femicides for girls and adolescents, while in 2023 that number went down to twenty-six in the same period, showcasing a 33.3% decrease. This implies that while from January to April 2022, a femicide of women aged 0 to 17 was reported every 3 days in the state of Mexico, for the same months in 2023, femicide for the same age range was recorded every 4 and a half days (Procuradurías de Justicia y Fiscalías Generales). This increased investigation of femicides in Mexico signifies a minor success for the WRR, seeing as how even in comparison to years as recent as 2022 there has been a change. Particularly, in Mexico City, there has been a noteworthy decrease in the number of femicides in 2023, whereby for the same period in 2020, 2021, and 2022 there have been 43, 42, and 37 registered femicides respectively, while in 2023 there have been 32 (Velasco). With the Prosecutor’s Office set up for gender crimes, more female homicide cases classified as femicide, and a reduced amount of femicides in comparison to last year, the offices can be seen as increasingly successful in enforcing the WRR. Using the aforementioned statistics and notable improvements in the Mexican crisis of femicide, it is possible to conclude that there have been some successes by the Women’s Rights Regime in preventing femicide and other forms of gender violence.

Concluding, the Women’s Rights Regime cannot be seen as entirely successful in preventing femicide and other forms of GBV in Mexico. Many factors explain this, including issues with the judicial system in Mexico and a lack of commitment to laws established to prevent femicide. On a smaller scale, however, positive changes have reduced the number of femicides in recent years, aided by a prosecutor’s office set up for gender crimes that signifies a slow impact on the fight against femicide and GBV. Yet, judging the issue of femicide and gender-based violence in Mexico on a nationwide scale, it is evident that not enough change took place due to the deeply ingrained problems surrounding the Mexican justice system alongside the

lack of state-level commitment to the implementation of protective laws, such as the General Law on Women’s Access to a Life Free From Violence. Regardless of the aforementioned drawbacks in the ongoing fight against gender-based violence, the continuous decrease in the number of victims and the active set up of pathways to help showcase the movement in the correct direction and a brighter future for the women of Mexico. Nevertheless, applying the events that still take place in Mexico today, the Women’s Rights Regime has only been successful to a slight extent in preventing gender-based violence and femicide, largely due to the issues with the Mexican justice system and a lack of commitment to laws established to protect women.