Women's groups in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, where 43 students were forcible disappeared 10 months ago, have called for a gender alert to be issued following a recent spike in fatal violence against women in the coastal city of Acapulco.
In just 11 days since July 13, at least 11 women have been killed in the coastal area and popular tourist destination, the local gender equality organization Women in Power Foundation reported.
Violencia #feminicida: el riesgo de ser mujer en #México http://t.co/krOOa7lKPo pic.twitter.com/IcSL2exNii
— Feminismos en Red (@feminismosenred)
July 21, 2015
“Femicide violence: The risk of being a woman in Mexico.”
According to Women in Power Foundation's President Silvia Galeana Valente, although the organization has documented 65 murders of women in the state of Guerrero, the attorney general's office recognizes less than one third of the femicides, recording just 20 murders of women in official statistics.
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In light of the recent increase in violence against women, Galeana told EFE that local women's organizations plan to submit a formal request to the governor of Guerrero state to issue an alert on the gender-based attacks.
RELATED: Femicides: An Ongoing Tragedy in Mexico
Galeana said the lack of response women's rights advocates have received in their attempts to gain access to information and raise alarm on the dire gender violence situation with other institutions, including the attorney general's office, has pushed local organizations to take the issue to the state government level.
"#México ocupa la posición 23 a nivel mundial en la tasa de #Feminicidios" @ONUMujeresMX http://t.co/QvFJqLK1ir pic.twitter.com/XZyry02vKo
— Sergio G. Morales (@powersuprime)
July 3, 2015
“Mexico ranks 23rd in the world in femicides.”
Women's organizations have warned that without a gender alert and other action, statistics of femicide are likely to keep climbing in Guerrero state.
Guerrero has been embattled in several violent incidents that have drawn international attention since the forced disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa students last fall, including disappearances, discoveries of mass graves, homicides, and femicides.
RELATED: Femicide: A Term to Fight Gender Violence
According to official statistics, over the past 28 years in Mexico more than 44,000 women have been murdered, though few perpetrators have been brought to justice. Rampant impunity fuels femicide and other violence against women.
Así matan a las mujeres en #México. Radiografía del #feminicidio http://t.co/WTDRRSRyaG #elmachismomata pic.twitter.com/CeUlH7JXNb
— Eco Republicano (@ecorepublicano)
July 23, 2015
“95% of femicides in Mexico go unpunished.”
In the violent state of Sinaloa, a state legislator announced this week that the rate of femicide has increased by 110 percent in the last two decades, with 358 cases of femicide reported since 2011 alone.
A recent report found that Guerrero has been the third most violent state by homicides in 2015 after Mexico State and Guanajato, registering 831 murders in the first four months of this year alone.
An average of nearly 100 people are killed each day in Mexico.
RELATED: Femicides in Mexico Rampant Due to Impunity