Femicides 

in Mexico
Mexico’s most violent year on record.  In addition, activists have been
mounting a sustained campaign in recent months to call attention to an
epidemic within an epidemic: femicide.
Mexico became an international reference point for gender-based violence in
the 1990s, following the murder of more than 370 women and girls in Ciudad
Juárez in the state of Chihuahua. In 2007, the Alert Mechanism for Gender
Violence against Women (AVGM) was first adopted. The AVGM allows
citizens to request the declaration of a “gender alert” in municipalities where
violence against women is increasing and obliges local authorities to examine
the situation and implement measures to end gender-based violence. As of
October 2021, 25 AVGMs have been declared in 22 of Mexico’s 32 states. 
Mexico’s impunity rate has reached an astounding level; 93 percent of crimes
were either not reported or not investigated in 2018, and investigation and
prosecution of femicides follows that trend.  Given the underreporting of
femicides and the fact that some states still do not distinguish them as separate
crimes from homicide.
 The “not one woman less” campaign began in Argentina in 2015 and swept
through Latin America, including in Mexico. In August 2019, after the alleged
rape of a teenage girl by a group of police officers north of Mexico City,
protesters rallied in Mexico City in the so-called “glitter revolution.”
AMLO’s response to the issue of femicide in Mexico has been tepid at best.
He generally seems indifferent or not completely aware of the severity of the
situation of femicide in Mexico and of the growing frustration among
Mexicans. 
A national demonstration on March 8 in honor of International Women’s Day
drew thousands of protesters. The next day, tens of thousands of women took
part in a nationwide walkout, disappearing for 24 hours from their schools and
jobs. The largely leaderless movement, known as “a day without us”, was a
statement challenging the government’s perceived indifference to the growing
issue of femicides in the country.
The ONU shows that violence against women is characterized by three
features:
  Invisibility: Product of cultural patterns that prevail in our society,
 Normality: When violence is continuous, we reach a point where
aggression is justified or normalized
 Impunity: Impunity in violence between couples is justified as a natural
or private matter.

 Dynamics of femicide
The 2022 MPI compares the dynamics of femicide to male homicide and
overall female homicides. IEP’s research shows that firearms were the leading
cause of death for both male and female homicides. Between 2015 and 2021,
the absolute and relative numbers of firearms homicides increased
substantially for men and women. The total number of male victims of
homicides with a firearm increased by 229 per cent, while the total number of
female victims increased by 261 per cent. The age profiles of male and female
homicide victims and femicide victims also provide important insight into the
phenomenon. Of the three categories, victims of femicide are more likely to be
minors (those under 18 years of age), accounting for 11.6 per cent of all
victims. 
However, more work is needed to improve femicide data to truly understand
the magnitude of femicide in Mexico, and how this type of violence differs
from other homicides.