Mexico Women Fed Up With Femicide March Against Gender Violence
Facing soaring rates of femicide with almost complete impunity, thousands of women across Mexico marched on April 24 to demand an end to gender violence and machismo that perpetuate a culture of harassing women. Over 6,000 women marched in Mexico City alone, with demonstrations taking place across the country in other major cities under the banner “we want to stay alive.” According to official statistics, seven women were killed every day in Mexico between 2013 and 2014 and dozens more faced other forms of gender violence.
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Women across Mexico marched against gender violence and patriarchy in a national day of action to raise awareness about violence against women on April 24, 2016.teleSUR / Clayton Conn
A protester in Mexico City holds a sign demanding free and safe access to abortions.teleSUR / Clayton Conn
A woman wearing a Mexican lucha libre wrestling mask carries a sign saying "This body is mine" marches in Mexico City.teleSUR / Clayton Conn
According to official statistics, 63 percent of Mexican women over 15 years of age have experienced some form of gender violence, which could include physical, sexual, emotional, or psychological violence as well as economic forms of abuse such as discrimination in the workplace.teleSUR / Clayton Conn
An impunity rate of more than 95 percent in femicide cases in Mexico fuels violence against women.teleSUR / Clayton Conn
Women carry a mock coffin and signs that read "Not one more."teleSUR / Clayton Conn
A historic femicide verdict last year in Mexico's northwestern state of Chihuahua saw five men sentenced to a landmark 697 years in jail for the murder of 11 women.teleSUR / Clayton Conn
In the wester Mexican state of Jalisco, a gender alert was delcared last year in the midst of a crisis that sees four women disappeared every month.teleSUR / Clayton Conn
The National Citizen Femicide Observatory reports that femicide victims in Mexico are often found with their bodies mutilated.teleSUR / Clayton Conn
Violence against women is a “global pandemic,” according to the United Nations and femicide has reached crisis levels in countries including Mexico, El Salvador, and Honduras.teleSUR / Clayton Conn
Musicians play during the march against gender violence in Mexico City.teleSUR / Clayton Conn
Protesters in Mexico City hold signs condemning the "femicidal state" and calling for an end to harmful stereotypes.teleSUR / Clayton Conn
Between 2012 and 2013, only 10 people were sentenced for the crime of femicide despite the rampant extent of the problem.teleSUR / Clayton Conn
Women in Mexico City march in memory of Mexican activist Nadia Herrera, murdered last year, and other victims of femicide and gender violence.Reuters
A masked protester carries a sign saying "femicidal state."Reuters
A woman carries a cross saying "not one more," demanding an end to femicide and forced disappearance of Mexican women.Reuters
Impunity for femicide and other abuses, in Mexico and beyond, means that when women attempt to seek justice, they face gendered discrimination that places blame on the victims for causing their own violence, or even deaths.Reuters
A woman carries a sign saying "I decide."Reuters
United Nations' figures show that around 66,000 women are killed every year worldwide, accounting for 17 percent of all homicides.Reuters