Covid crisis: Mexico witnesses a spike in lockdown violence, 1K women murdered in 3 months

Amid the Coronavirus threat, the government of Mexico released new figures about the number of women murdered in the first quarter of the year. According to the data, almost one thousand women were murdered in Mexico in the first three months of the year, most of who were victims of 'femicide'. 

Femicide is defined as gender-motivated killing of women which is prevalent in Mexico.

As per the government figures, the number of women killed was 8 per cent higher than in the same time period last year. At least 720 women were murdered in the first quarter of the year and 244 women were victims of femicide, the government informed.

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The femicide rate in Mexico has more than doubled in the past five years. The Campaigners are also apprehensive that the troubling rate of violence could increase during the Coronavirus lockdown, which has been extended till the end of May. As per report, the calls and messages sent to the National Network of Shelters — a network of almost 70 refuges for women who have suffered violence — increased more than 80 per cent between mid-March and mid-April when compared to the previous month.

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More than 10 females are murdered every day in Mexico, making it one of the most dangerous countries in the world for girls and women. In addition to half the population being at high risk of violence, the rule of law is in jeopardy as very few cases of violence against women result in convictions. Some 44 per cent of women have suffered violence from a partner and 66 percent of women have experienced some form of violence during their life, according to the Mexican Institute of Statistics and Geography.

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Protests against gender violence in Mexico have intensified in recent years amid an increase in killings of women and girls. Government data showed 3,825 women met violent deaths last year, 7% more than in 2018. Murders have often been accompanied by sexual violence and exceptional brutality, with some women, burned or mutilated. Thousands of other women have vanished without a trace.

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