Gender violence in Mexico

In accordance with article 1 of the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, the General Assembly establishes that gender violence is "any act of violence based on belonging to the female sex that results in or may result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to the woman, as well as threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether they occur in public or private life .” [1]

Gender violence is a product of the patriarchal system that is characterized by establishing a gender hierarchy, which invariably refers to the existence of a power relationship between genders in which women have a subordinate role with respect to men. . In other words, under this patriarchal logic, women are perceived as inferior individuals to men.

According to Alda Facio and Lorena Fries, the hierarchical gender system of this type of society is characterized by an ideology that explicitly devalues women, their roles and products; replicates negative meanings linked to women or their activities; it is based on structures that exclude women from political, economic and social spaces; they perceive reality from a division into two sexes. The man is the parameter of the human and the woman is relegated to the subordination. [2]

Suárez Tomé indicates that the biological differences between men and women do not imply by themselves a series of social inequalities, these are assigned by the effect of culture in macho societies. In other words, in some social structures, the lack of human rights, the lack of political rights and fundamental freedoms for women is the result of a logic and a patriarchal hierarchical system based on the sexes. [3]

Due to the link between gender violence and patriarchal society, feminist theory has worked to explain this problem. Feminism has struggled to include its vision in all kinds of disciplines to understand the realities of women. Danila Suárez Tomé points out that "the gender perspective arises from feminism and that it is a washed-out term from the feminist perspective." [4] The feminist perspective aims to criticize the structures of patriarchal society and transform them.

Historically, women have experienced inequitable conditions, having been relegated to certain specific roles that entail activities related to the care of a hegemonic male figure (be it the father, husband, brothers and children), but also, being considered a being inferior, has been perceived as property and a sexual object. It is under these conditions that gender violence is brewing, since the female body and mind have been seen as an extension of man's possessions.

It is stated that women are a group in a vulnerable situation since they have been victims of discrimination and violence against them because of their gender. According to Diana Lara Espinosa, “it is convenient […] to clarify: vulnerability is not a personal condition, that is, it is not a characteristic of a human being. People are not by themselves "vulnerable", "weak" or "defenseless", but rather, due to a particular condition, they face an environment that unfairly restricts or prevents the development of one or more aspects of their lives, being subject to a situation of vulnerability and, therefore, to a greater risk of seeing their rights affected”. [5]

The violence that women have suffered for centuries is not confined to a single area. Violence has been exercised in all kinds of spaces: in the community, within the family, in affective relationships, in the workplace and in educational institutions.

In the case of Mexican women, according to the National Survey on the Dynamics of Household Relations (ENDIREH) 2016, throughout their lives 25.3% have experienced violence in the school environment, 26.6% in the workplace , 38.7% in the community environment, 43.9% have experienced violence in their partner relationship and 10.3% in the family environment in the last 12 months. [6]

In order to have a broad overview of how gender violence is exercised, the following is the classification established by the General Law on Women's Access to a Life Free of Violence[7]:

1. Psychological violence, which refers to any damage that affects the psychological stability of the woman. This may consist of negligence, abandonment, repeated neglect, jealousy, insults, humiliation, devaluation, marginalization, indifference, infidelity, destructive comparisons, rejection, restriction of self-determination and threats, which lead the victim to depression, isolation, to the devaluation of their self-esteem and even to suicide;

2. Physical violence, understood as any damage that causes physical injury;

3. Patrimonial violence, referring to any act that prevents the satisfaction of the victim's needs, such as damage to assets or patrimonial documents;

4. Economic violence, understood as the limitation and control of economic income or the perception of a lower salary than that which corresponds;

5. Sexual violence, is understood as any act that damages the body, dignity, integrity or sexuality of the victim. It also refers to the abuse of power over women and the conception of women as one of hers as an object.

The maximum expression of gender violence is the act called “Femicide”. The origins of this term go back to the year 1976, in the First Court of Crimes against Women, which took place in Brussels, Belgium. “Femicide represents the extreme of a continuum of anti-feminine terror that includes a wide variety of verbal and physical abuse such as rape, torture, sexual slavery, incestuous or extra-familial child sexual abuse, physical and emotional beatings, sexual harassment, genital mutilation, unnecessary gynecological operations, forced heterosexuality, forced sterilization, forced maternity. Whenever these forms of terrorism result in death, they become femicide.” [8]

Gender and violence in Mexico

An ideology that denigrates and devalues women permeates Mexican society. This ideology is deeply rooted in the culture and has been transmitted from generation to generation. Aggressions against the feminine have become normalized to such a degree in the daily life of Mexican society, that they can be found both in the "humor" of the population and even in speeches from authorities and public figures of political life. It is precisely in this type of social fabric that patriarchal logic creates acts such as feminicide and gender violence.

Frequently the mistake is made of perceiving micro-aggressions and/or micro-machismo as harmless actions and they are tolerated. However, these are strongly linked to an entire system and social structures designed to systematically oppress women's freedoms and rights. Continuing to replicate these types of acts and/or speeches entails the perpetuation of a logic of macho thinking that provides the ideal conditions for an aggressor to gradually escalate the type of violence that he exerts on the female gender, as well as the normalization of misogynist behaviors. and macho.

In order to draw the scenario that exists in Mexico regarding gender violence, it is enough to point out that women are much more likely to be the object of crimes related to sexual violence and family violence. According to INEGI data in 2015, crimes such as sexual harassment, kidnapping, equated rape, incest, simple rape, family violence, sexual harassment, sexual abuse and human trafficking affected in more to women than to men. See Graph 1.

Graph 1. Victims registered in preliminary investigations initiated and investigation folders opened, by type of crime according to sex, 2015.

The sum of the percentages may not be one hundred percent because the cases in which the sex of the victim was not identified or not specified are not considered, or it does not apply because it is a legal entity or the State, for example. Source: INEGI National Census of State Justice Procurement.

Violence against women, expressed in the form of femicide in Mexico, is not a recent phenomenon. This crime registered an unprecedented increase after the arrival of Felipe Calderón, in a context of generalized violence caused by the war against drug trafficking. “The numbers, never before seen in the country, rose to a total of 121,613 people killed by homicide, 12,990 disappeared, and 160,000 displaced […]” [9] during his six-year term. See graph 2.

Graph 2. Comparison of violent deaths during the six-year term of Felipe Calderón (2006-2012).

Source: Process in Luis Hurtado-González and Juana Delgado-Valdez, "The War against Organized Crime during the six-year period 2006-2012 and respect for Human Rights in Mexico." Multidisciplinary University Research, 12, January-December issue of the journal, 2012: 63.

It is pertinent to emphasize that the main victims of the war against drug trafficking were men, therefore, the causes and ways in which these individuals were deprived of their lives do not correspond to the category of gender violence. However, the institutional precariousness, and the conditions that hindered and hindered the prevention and administration of justice in that period was reflected in high levels of impunity and corruption, which had a negative impact on the resolution of investigation folders and on the the rates of femicide in the country during the period 2007-2012.

The problem lies not only in the high incidence of femicides and crimes related to sexual violence, but also in the fact that “[i]n Mexico there is also a pattern of systemic impunity, a reflection of the lack of access to justice. Often the victims, when trying to access the justice system, are mistreated and discriminated against. Mexico lacks a comprehensive institutionalized policy that guarantees access to justice for women, presenting flaws throughout all stages of the criminal process. In the investigation stage, women face unjustified delays, failure to carry out key expert evidence for the investigation and unjustified interference in their private lives, as well as blame and disqualification by the authorities.” [10]

In the same sense, Patricia Olamendi points out that “[…] in femicide a series of elements that make it invisible and conceal it come together, such as: silence, omission, negligence and complicity. All of it; it generates impunity that not only denies justice for the victims, but also provokes a feeling of helplessness among women that results in a greater level of vulnerability in the face of their aggressors; and in society the conviction that the violent death of women, by not deserving the attention and investigation of the authorities, reinforces the inequality and discrimination to which they are subjected in daily life.” [eleven]

In order to illustrate the magnitude of gender violence in the six-year term of Felipe Calderón, the report on Femicide in Mexico, prepared by UN Women, the National Institute for Women and the College of Mexico indicate that, in the period After one year, femicides increased by 64% in 2008 and, for 2009, the figures increased by 121% taking 2007 as a reference. [12] See graph 3.

Graph 3. Mexico: evolution of the national rates of female deaths with presumption of homicide according to year of occurrence, 1985-2009.

Source: Special Commission for the Monitoring of Femicides, Chamber of Deputies, LXI Legislature, INMujeres and UN-Women based on INEGI, Vital Mortality Statistics and CONAPO, Mexico Population Projections 2005-2050.

The highest point of femicides in Mexico of which there is a record was during the period of 2011-2012, at the end of the presidential term of Felipe Calderón. When Enrique Peña Nieto's six-year term began, these gradually decreased until reaching the lowest number of cases in June 2015, with 411 femicides. See Graph 4.

However, violence in Mexico did not continue to decrease, on the contrary, the numbers of femicides continued to increase from 2015 until reaching a critical point in 2019, with a total of 945 femicides, **almost 1,000 women were murdered in a single year **.

Regarding the national trend of alleged femicides in 2020, in the months of March, April and May there was a decrease in cases (73-67 cases per month) compared to February (91 in that month), possibly as a result of result of confinement to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, in the month of June the figures increased considerably, reaching 94 femicides, almost like the most violent month in the last 5 years (December 2018, with 98 femicides).

Graph 4. Presumed crimes of femicide: national trend.

Source: SESNSP-CNI with information reported by the Prosecutor's Offices of the 32 federal entities.

The woman who lives in Mexico lives daily in fear of suffering some type of aggression that varies from being sexually harassed on public transport, at work or at school, to being kidnapped, raped or murdered. In addition to this, the violence against the lives and female bodies does not stop at the moment of death, since it is common for the media in Mexico to be authorized access to the scenes "guarded" by experts and disseminate graphic images of the lifeless bodies, which deeply damages the memory of the victim, his family and loved ones.

In the case of survivors of sexual violence, the assaults continue after the crime has been committed. When the complaint is made formally, the Public Ministry revictimizes the survivor with misogynistic insinuations and archaic speeches due to the lack of specialized training for public servants who "provide" support to the complainants. In cases of family violence, it is common for the authorities themselves to discourage survivors from filing a complaint due to the infrequency of favorable resolutions.

Civil society in the face of violence and institutional disinterest

The circulation of photos of hundreds of missing women, youth and girls has become commonplace on social media. Although some of the cases of missing young women tend to go viral, it is not the case for all. Thousands of families do not achieve this level of dissemination because they do not have the necessary means or belong to invisible sectors of society.

As a result of this situation, the levels of nonconformity on the part of Mexican society have reached levels never seen before. Through the use of communication tools such as social networks, greater social mobilization has currently been identified through the increasingly abundant awareness campaigns, such as "#UnDíaSinMujeres" or #DeMachosaHombres and through marches to demand better living conditions. security throughout the Mexican territory.

Since the beginning of 2020, citizen outrage over insecurity in the country has intensified, not only because of the increasing crime figures, but also because of the statements by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has minimized and invalidated the feminist movement by using condescending phrases that reveal their lack of knowledge and empathy on these issues.

Rather than provide a security strategy crafted specifically to ensure women's safety, the president takes cover through his attacks on the political opposition. For example, he has mentioned that femicides are used as a political strategy to obscure the – frankly absurd – presidential plane raffle and manipulate public opinion. When the president does not resort to these measures, he uses an empty, moralistic speech that sometimes tends to naivety.

In this context of unprecedented violence, on March 8, 2020, International Women's Day, thousands of women belonging to different sectors of society in Mexico took to the streets to demand justice and better conditions of public safety. It is worth mentioning that the participants in this event were subjected to threats and insinuations weeks before the march through social networks. The threats included physical violence, with an emphasis on acid attacks. However, the mobilization registered on this day was historic.

Feminist march, International Women's Day, Mexico City, March 8, 2020. Photo by Elizabeth Ruiz.

Home, violence and confinement

In the current situation, domestic violence has intensified in the family environment as a result of the confinement measures taken to control the spread of Covid-19 in the country. According to the Executive Secretariat of the Public Security System, in the month of March there were a total of 20,232 calls to 911 to request assistance in cases of domestic violence. [13]

Despite the fact that the pertinent authorities have published the previous official figures, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has once again made statements that publicly minimize and invalidate complaints of domestic violence by stating in a press conference that 90% of calls to 911 are false without providing any valid grounds or records to support such statements.

This situation develops after the president announced at the beginning of May 2020 the elimination of subsidies for the Houses of Indigenous and Afro-Mexican Women, as well as childcare centers. [14] Given these budget cuts, the lack of consonance between the priorities of the current administration and the National Commission to Prevent and Eradicate Violence Against Women (CONAVIM), the National Council to Prevent Discrimination (CONAPRED) and the Executive Commission for Attention to Victims (CEAV) since the incumbents, Candelaria Ochoa, Mónica Maccise and Mara Gómez have requested their resignation given the current institutional conditions.

The lack of prioritization of issues concerning the guarantee of security and the eradication of violence on the public agenda has made the situation of violence experienced by thousands of women more complex. In the case of the possible closure of the Casas de la Mujer Indígena y Afro-Mexicana, the abandonment is even more stark because historically and institutionally, the indigenous and Afro-Mexican population faces more challenges than the rest of the population. Given these circumstances, the federal government has distanced itself from the commitments made to guarantee a life without violence for women in Mexico and proposes as a solution to request financing from embassies in Mexico and international organizations.

Given the lack of real mechanisms to provide support to survivors of domestic violence, the federal government has created a campaign called "Count to 10" which, as the title says, proposes counting to 10 to generate tolerance and thus avoid episodes of violence in homes. [15] The simplistic nature of the campaign has generated outrage and criticism, to say the least, as it does not represent a solution or real support for survivors of domestic violence.

The Secretary of the Interior, Olga Sánchez Cordero, declared that the federal government's priority was limited to allocating resources to strategies to control the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, so there was no clarity as to when or if they would be Budgets have been allocated to meet the needs of thousands of women survivors of gender violence. [16]

Likewise, and no less relevantly, the elimination of subsidies for children's stays means that Mexican women will face another obstacle to achieve their academic and professional goals, since the absence of government support implies a greater burden of domestic work, specifically, child care.

This scenario is inconsistent with the information found on the official website of the Government of Mexico. This platform exposes the achievements of the current administration, which emphasize the National System for the Prevention, Care, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women, known as one of the most important mechanisms to prevent and eradicate gender violence. .

However, after examining the criminal reports linked to gender violence, it is clear that the efforts of this administration to combat a phenomenon that has occurred more and more frequently and aggressively in recent years are insufficient.

It is affirmed that with the National System it has been possible to promote and carry out public policies that are focused on placing the gender perspective and work in favor of women's rights as a priority axis in government action throughout the Mexican Republic. [17] However, it is more than evident that these progressive mechanisms and strategies are limited to the discursive level since in practice, as previously stated, the current administration does not govern with this priority axis, quite the contrary.

Initially, the inclusive presidential cabinet was seen as a beacon of hope. It seemed that the principles of political feminism could find a place on the agenda of the "Fourth Transformation" and that the feminist perspective would permeate from the highest leadership to the most vulnerable sectors to try to compensate for so many years of injustice and inequity, but this did not It was like this.

Now more than ever, the stumbling blocks of the President of Mexico give the impression that there is not even the presence of experts in gender matters providing advice when dealing with such sensitive issues as femicide or domestic violence and not because of the lack of specialists in these subjects.

There are those who affirm that it is too soon to examine the performance of the current administration since the results of public policies do not materialize instantly. However, evaluating the positions that the current government has adopted to face the new challenges is a valid and healthy practice for democracy. It is extremely important to keep the new government accountable or “responsible” for its decisions, especially when these have very serious direct and immediate consequences for society.

Until now, the "left" that took years to reach power turned out to be a government with little empathy for the feminist cause, which lives under the shadow of the figure of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who fails in his claims to be a force " progressive” and does not live up to the expectations it originally set.

Given this panorama, it only remains to hope that in the coming years the current security strategies address the problems directly, are applied more rigorously, their effectiveness is reassessed and, if necessary, they are reconsidered or reformulated. At the same time, the response and care capacities of the authorities that provide care to survivors of crimes such as sexual assault, harassment, and domestic violence must continue to be strengthened and expanded.

Unfortunately the future seems to be mined with challenges due to the economic crisis projected in the coming years. It is possible that, if the political agenda is not readjusted, public policies focused on eradicating gender violence and providing support to survivors will take second or third place.

In conclusion, gender violence is a problem that has affected Mexican society for centuries, since it is the result of a culture and a social system based on the gender hierarchy that has been institutionalized in the social, political and social spheres. economic.

The change implied by the eradication of machismo in Mexico has been and will continue to be an extremely slow process due to the strong resistance that has been manifested. It is enough to remember that only in 1953 women had the right to vote to gauge the degree of backwardness that Mexican society has in terms of gender equity.

The feminist movement and the civil society that supports and believes in the cause have undoubtedly been the engines to continue the fight against injustice. However, the full commitment of government muscles is necessary to develop and implement public policies aimed at eradicating gender violence.

Ana Pecova points out the importance of public policies in terms of the influence they have to generate new habits. It would be very difficult to change machismo from the family nucleus, an environment where macho ideology and social dynamics are learned and inherited, but it is possible to do so from another sphere. The expert in women's human rights proposes the creation of educational initiatives with a feminist perspective that aims to re-educate the next generations of Mexicans. [18]

For now, as Ana Pecova rightly states, it is extremely complex to eradicate gender violence when there are no mechanisms or transversal programs focused on the elimination of macho ideology and the assignment of roles based on gender and power relations from an early age. . [19] She still has a long way to go to achieve more advances in the area of women's human rights that guarantee the safety of this sector of the population.

However, the current scenario shows that non-governmental and international organizations and civil society will not stop making efforts to improve their environment and to continue with the process of deconstruction of Mexican society.