In Mexico’s Juarez, Women Are Leading the Fight Against Femicide

In early March, Mexico’s undersecretary for quality rights, organization and migration, Arturo Medina Padilla, publically acknowledged nan Mexican state’s work for nan disappearances and murders of 7 women and girls successful Ciudad Juarez from 1995 to 2003. The connection marked nan Mexican government’s compliance pinch recommendations issued by nan Inter-American Commission connected Human Rights successful a lawsuit brought by relatives of nan 7 victims.

“We admit that nan Mexican State violated nan basal correct of these girls and women to life,” Padilla said astatine a nationalist ceremonial astatine a victims’ memorial successful Juarez. “Not only did nan authorities neglect to protect them, but rather, successful galore cases, it was nan authorities that perpetrated aliases tolerated nan violence.”

The problem of femicide—or nan execution of a female aliases woman because of their gender—in Juarez has attracted little attraction successful caller years than astatine nan highest of media sum successful nan mid-2010s. But contempt nan Mexican state’s belated acknowledgement of its past failures, nan problem has not gone away. To nan contrary, betwixt 2017 and 2019, Ciudad Juarez had 39 femicide cases, pinch 25 caller cases successful 2023, making it erstwhile again nan deadliest Mexican metropolis for women. The full number of femicides is apt overmuch higher, arsenic astir murders of women and girls are not legally classified arsenic femicides owed to nan precocious load of proof.