Murders of women -- femicides -- are a perennial problem in this country, and the popular perception here is that many such cases are not diligently investigated or prosecuted. Some critics claim that local authorities embolden violent perpetrators by treating crimes against women as less significant than many other public offenses. Mexico`s Cancer - Domestic Violence, A License to Kill.
A member of Mexico's lower legislative body, the House of Deputies, told her colleagues this week that between 2007 and 2009, femicides throughout Mexico increased by 68%. Another deputy argued, "really, it's a crime we should be ashamed of." Today the House voted to make the murder of a woman a federal crime under some circumstances.
Mexico is a federal republic, much like the United States. It's 32 separate states have primary jurisdiction over "common" crimes -- things like robbery, theft and fraud, drug offenses, sexual abuse, homicide and myriad other offenses. Murder of a woman is still murder, and the obligation is on the state wherein it was committed to prosecute the offender. All too often, that's where things break down.
But under the bill passed by the federal deputies today, if a woman is physically or sexually assaulted, or kidnapped and held against her will before her death, or if the evidence establishes that she was stalked or threatened by her assailant before being murdered, those "special circumstances" will give rise to a federal crime, carrying a prison term of 40 to 60 years. The same federal penalties will apply if the perpetrator "displays" the victim's body in a public place, which has occurred not infrequently in cases of revenge killings by drug cartel sicarios (executioners). Mexico has no death penalty for any type of homicide, regardless of the circumstances.
Perhaps of greater significance, the bill passed today contains provisions which would punish any public official who, by "act or omission," fails to investigate and prosecute a case of femicide of which he or she has knowledge, and for which the official is charged with legal responsibility. Such persons could be incarcerated for five to 10 years, stripped of their government office and fined.
"Mexico has taken an important step forward by answering our society's demand, and especially that of women," said a House deputy after the vote. The measure now moves to the Senate for further study and consideration.
The problem of femicide in Mexico attracted international attention in the 1990s, when hundreds of women disappeared in and around the border town of Ciudad Juárez. Many were later found murdered, sometimes buried in remote desert graves. Others remain missing to this day, and their fates are unknown. The majority were young working women from impoverished circumstances, often helping to support parents and siblings by taking jobs in local factories. Theories abound on what may have happened to them, including allegations of law enforcement involvement. Most of the cases have not been solved.
Apr. 19, 2012: Mexico's Senate today approved the House of Deputies bill. Technical changes were made to some of its provisions, so the bill will have to make a return trip to the lower chamber for reconfirmation. But Mexico now has a federal law against femicide for the first time in its history.
A case study in gender-based violence in Mexico.
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