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August 22, 2019

Mexican women are angry about rape, murder and government neglect – and they want the world to know

With 1,812 women killed this year already, Mexico is Latin America’s second-deadliest place for women after Brazil.

Wearing green bandannas and dousing police in , Mexican women on Aug. 16 staged a in Mexico City after a 17-year-old girl reported being raped by four police officers earlier in the month.

Officials have sent mixed signals about ongoing investigations of the case, and Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum triggered fury among feminists when she said there would be no 鈥�.鈥�

The alleged police rape has hit a nerve in Mexico, where women face extremely high rates of violence and incessant .

Another teen girl was reported being days before the women鈥檚 march, which drew an estimated 2,000 people and included both violent and to Mexico鈥檚 missing women and girls.

With murdered between January and July this year 鈥� about 10 a day 鈥� Mexico is Latin America鈥檚 , after Brazil, according to the United Nations. More than 200 Mexican women have been kidnapped so far in 2019.

Yet Mexican President Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador 鈥� who was elected last year in a with a and promises to 鈥渢ransform鈥� Mexico 鈥� has not followed through on promises to expand women鈥檚 rights. In fact, his administration has rolled back some the few federal policies designed to protect and empower Mexican women.

Women toss pink glitter during a protest march demanding justice and for their safety, sparked by two recent alleged rapes by police, in Mexico City, Friday, Aug. 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Women in the workplace

Under austerity measures meant to curb public spending, the Mexican government in February an day care program that allowed low-income families to sign up for child care close to their workplace or home.

Rather than pay subsidies to this network of private day care facilities, the Mexican government now gives every two months directly to families.

Each family may now decide whether to send their children to day care or pay 鈥渁 sister, an aunt or a grandma,鈥� L贸pez Obrador , giving parents more choice in their child care.

The suggestion that female relatives should care for Mexico鈥檚 children infuriated women鈥檚 groups and in Mexico.

In a , 17 civil society groups said the new policy would 鈥渟trengthen gender streotypes鈥� and 鈥減romote discrimination and gender inequality.鈥� It reminded the president that women do 70% of all domestic work in Mexico and that grandmothers already care for 50% of all young children not in their parents鈥� care.

Mexico鈥檚 subsidized child care network, which has served since it was , has been successful in enabling more women to work outside the home.

According to a , the day care network had relieved 1,825,394 parents of child care duties for 34 hours a week over the past decade. A significant percentage of the communities served by the day care network were either , according to the U.N. Women were the primary beneficiaries.

Mothers who used government subsidized day care were 18% more likely to have gotten a job between 2007 and 2017 compared to those who did not receive government-subsidized child care, according to a government .

Even so, Mexico still has the second-lowest female participation in the workforce among developed countries, behind Turkey. Only .

Defunding women鈥檚 shelters

The Mexican government disappointed feminists again when the government announced in March that it would additionally for women鈥檚 shelters and instead .

Worldwide, women are most likely to be murdered by a male partner and , making shelters a vital sanctuary.

In Mexico, the number of women stabbed or strangled at home between 2012 and 2016. In March 2019, the same month the cuts were announced, Mexican police received of domestic violence 鈥� a 16% increase over February 2019.

The plan to stop funding women鈥檚 shelters funding was met with . for victims of domestic violence that cutting shelter funding would expose women and children to even more danger.

Public uproar forced L贸pez Obrador to .

鈥淭he women鈥檚 shelters will remain,鈥� he said on March 7, announcing a new plan to expand the Mexican government鈥檚 role in the 鈥減rotection, attention, punishment and eradication of violence against women and girls.鈥�

Women鈥檚 shelters have nonetheless under the government鈥檚 . News reports in June revealed that received no federal funding at all for the second half of the year.

Women鈥檚 rights 鈥榥ot a priority鈥�

L贸pez Obrador, a leftist firebrand who , remains eight months into his six-year term.

To quell criticism that it doesn鈥檛 care about women, his administration in late May announced the launch of a European Union and United Nations program in Mexico to eliminate violence against women.

The investment of 鈧�7 million, or about $7.7 million, is called the . It will target : Mexico state, Chihuahua and Guerrero.

The EU program鈥檚 goals are to design public spaces that are safer for women, facilitate women鈥檚 access to justice and protection services and to 鈥渇undamentally change the perception of women within their families and in society.鈥�

A spokesperson for the European Union the Spanish newspaper El Pa铆s that L贸pez Obrador initially rejected this initiative because gender 鈥渨as not a priority鈥� for his government.

After the Mexico City women鈥檚 march, L贸pez Obrador defended his government鈥檚 dedication to women鈥檚 issues.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 our main issue 鈥� to guarantee the safety of men and women,鈥� he said.

The president also criticized demonstrators for defacing a famous monument with feminist slogans. He urged Mexican women to protest in a 鈥�,鈥� and to 鈥減rotect the cultural and artistic patrimony of Mexico.鈥�

, Senior Lecturer in Human Rights, Constitutional Law and Legal Theory, and , Lecturer, School of Law,

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