As the United Nations prepares to review Mexico’s human rights recordin November, civil societyorganizations in Oaxaca publish their own evaluation,from one of the states with the highest number of violations in the country. In the following series Educa, a contributor to the report, summarizes its main findings:
In Oaxaca, femicide—the killing of a woman or girl, in particular by a man and on account of her gender—is constantly on the rise. From 2013 to 2017, 475 femicides were committed, 67% more than the cases documented when the UN last reviewed Mexico’s human rights record in 2013.
There is a lack of political will to carry out the UN recommendations for guaranteeing women’s rights.The impunity rate for these types of crimes is 99%, and the previous government left 8,500 unattended inquiries into crimes against women.Leadership of the Secretary of Oaxacan Women has changed three times from December 2016 to February 2018, which has prevented the development of public policiesthat meet women’s needs. Moreover, the Prosecutor specializing in crimes against women resigned after one year, citing a lack of trained staff, infrastructure and budget.
Femicide violence in Oaxaca impacts girls and young people more and more frequently. In 2013 there were 35 cases of disappeared young women, while in 2017 the number of cases rose to 78—an increase of 123%. During this same period, resources to combat gender violence were reduced, with the Office of the Assistant Attorney General for Attention to Gender Violence being demoted to a Special Prosecutor’s Office. There is still no state shelter for victims of violence.
In spite of legislation protecting their political participation, many women whoassume decision-making roles suffer threats, smear campaigns, attacks and even femicide that prevent them from performing their duties. From December 2016 to date there were 21 attacks of this type.
In terms of health, between 2015 and 2017, 2,666 pregnancies in girls and adolescents under the age of 15 were registered in Oaxaca.Legal abortion is only permitted in cases of rape, risk to the mother’s life, accidents and malformations, and each year approximately 9,200 abortions occur in secret.
Download: Under attack. Human Rights in Oaxaca 2013-2018. Citizen report (PDF, 32 pp.)
