Amnesty International: 10 women or girls killed daily in Mexico

At least 10 women or girls were killed every day in Mexico last year, revealing a dangerous trend of gender-based violence in the country, a report by Amnesty International released Monday found.

The victims’ families are often left to investigate the murders due to police failings, the report, called “Justice on Trial,” added, calling it an “epidemic of disappearances and femicides.” 

“Each femicide has an appalling impact on the victims’ families,” Edith Olivares Ferreto, executive director of Amnesty International Mexico, said in a press release.

“Police failings” include lost evidence, inadequate investigations and “a lack of understanding on gender perspective,” according to Amnesty.

Luz María Silva Sosa, whose mother, Julia Sosa Conde, was a victim, told the group that her family conducted their own investigation. 

“It was us who found my mother,” she told the organization. “[The authorities] did not help us to search, they did not help us arrest anyone, we did everything.”

Police have also reportedly threatened and harassed families so they do not bring their cases up to superiors. 

“The threats caused me a lot of stress,” María Antonia Márquez, mother of victim Nadia Muciño, told Amnesty International. “My weight went down to 40 kilos. I suffered from anxiety, a terrible level of stress.”

The report also found that the State of Mexico Attorney General’s Office does not have the foundation to carry out the investigations due to an overflowing workload and lack of resources to carry out crucial procedures. 

Advocates have spoken out about this issue in the past. In March, activists displayed “Victims of Femicide” in Spanish outside Mexico’s national palace.

“We will continue to raise our voices together with the victims’ families and support them in their search for truth, justice and reparation for the harm suffered, until they are heard,” said Ferreto.