Translated by Samantha Lisk
Even though laws have been passed in Mexico enabling women to live free of violence, the State still does not guarantee full rights for them, so that until now there has not been a single person convicted of gender-based violence.
Soledad Murillo de la Vega, a former member of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) at the United Nations and director of the Equality Unit at the University of Salamanca in Spain, affirmed that there is an intention within Mexico to advance in the defense of women’s rights.
Still, she said, in order to achieve this goal it is urgent to have convictions against those who abuse women, as well as define the crime of disappearance with a serious penalty, which were two of the central requirements covering the rights of women in Mexico established in 2012 by CEDAW during its last review of the state.
The expert, interviewed after participating in the CEDAW forum "Methodology of the Report 'Shadows and Public Policies in Mexico'” which was held in the School of Political and Social Sciences at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, recommended authorizing the Attorney General’s Special Prosecutor’s Office for Violence against Women and Trafficking in Persons (FEVIMTRA) to investigate the murders of women which were committed with firearms in the context of violence committed by organized crime in the country.
“This prosecutor’s office should be provided with the authority to intervene in cases of women murdered by firearms. Currently this office is not authorized to investigate these acts because it is considered a subject that has to do with drug trafficking. But FEVIMTRA ought to participate, conduct investigations and establish the foundations (in order to determine if it was a gender-based crime).”Murillo thought that at Mexico’s next appearance before the CEDAW sessions in 2016, it should present the number of individuals arrested and convicted for gender-based crimes.
“The Mexican government intends to advance, but this requires, above all, convictions and penalties which may include community service in work connected with the health and care (of women). Violence against women is not a positive image for Mexican men, who also aspire to a more equal relationship.”Spanish original