Oaxaca: Request of activation of Gender Alert amidst increase in number of femicides

Day against gender violence in Oaxaca. Photo (@Sipaz)

In light of the increasing number of femicides in the state of Oaxaca, the civil association Consorcio for Parliamentary Dialogue and Equity Oaxaca has made an urgent call for other civil organizations, the social movement, and academics in Oaxaca to join the presentation of a request for the activation of a gender alert before the three levels of governmental power in Mexico, as a means of resisting the grave situation being seen in the state in these terms.

According to data collected by Consorcio, there have been 266 women killed during the administration of Gabino Cué. In just the first two months of 2014 there have been 13 women killed in the state, a statistic that is much higher than the 4 who were murdered in the same period last year.  These data locate Oaxaca as being one of the most violent states in Mexico for women.

For the civil association, it is necessary to build legislation, budget, and public policies to guarantee the freedom, security, and lives of women: “It is evident that the generalized gender violence is a result of the omissions of the State in protecting women; it also reflects the impunity which reigns in this type of crime.”

For his part, Arturo Peimbert Calvo, head of the Defense Institute for the Human Rights of the Oaxacan People (DDHPO), has announced that he will present an initiative before the local congress to create a domestic gender alert that would not depend upon federal criteria to be implemented.

For A. Peimbert, it was an error on the part of the Secretary of Governance (SEGOB) to have rejected the declaration of a gender violence alert in Oaxaca previously, in April 2013: “It was an error to reject the gender alert; the evidence is that in Oaxaca the cases of femicide continue with an impressive increase.”

For more information (in Spanish):

Comunicado de Consorcio Oaxaca ante la situación de violencia contra las mujeres (Consorcio, 21 de febrero de 2014)

Crece alarma por feminicidios en Oaxaca (El Imparcial, 23 de febrero de 2013)

Plantea DDHPO alerta de género doméstica (Noticiasnet.mx, 24 de febrero de 2014)

Video: En Oaxaca no hay políticas públicas a la altura para prevenir y sancionar la violencia de género (Oaxaca tres punto cero, 25 de febrero de 2014)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guerrero: Activities to observe International Day of Non-Violence toward Women (8 December 2013)

Chiapas/Oaxaca: Conmemoration of femicides during Day of the Dead (13 November 2013)

Chiapas: Women declare alert over gender violence (20 July 2013)

Oaxaca: March of releatives of victims of feminicide and members of human rights organizations for women (22 April 2013)

Oaxaca: More feminicides under Gabino Cué than in the final years of Ulises Ruiz (24 January 2013)