On November 25th, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, women in cities like San Cristobal de Las Casas, Comitan, and Tuxtla Gutierrez, took to the streets to demand safety and justice. SIPAZ accompanied the march of about 200 women from the Administrative Unit to the Plaza de la Paz in San Cristobal de Las Casas. “No to Violence! Break the Silence! Women Want To Be Free!”, could be read on the banners of the protesters. The women demanded an end to sexual violence and to be able to live free and without fear. It was stated: “We cannot close our eyes to terror”, which refers to the high level of violence experienced by women in Chiapas. In the statement that self-convened and organized women read at the end of their mobilization, they pointed out that in Chiapas there are a large number of girls forced to marry or continue with unwanted pregnancies as a result of rape. So far this year, 345 girls and adolescents have disappeared in the state, almost eight a week, said members of the Melel Xojobal organization.
It should be noted that in 2016 a Gender Violence Alert was declared in seven municipalities of Chiapas, including Tuxtla Gutierrez, San Cristobal de Las Casas and Tapachula, according to Desinformemonos. However, reliable figures are needed, especially from the rural regions of Chiapas.
According to the Chiapas State Attorney General’s Office, from January to October 2022, 39 femicides were registered, however civil society organizations have other figures. “By analyzing newspaper articles, we found at least 53 cases that have all the characteristics to be considered femicides. If a woman is murdered by her partner, or when the note says that it was an assault but in the photographs we observe that the victim has signs of sexual violence, we immediately consider it as a systemic sexual femicide”, said Karla Somoza Ibarra, director of the Feminist Observatory against Violence against Women of Chiapas.
According to the Observatory, in September 2022 there was a 24 percent increase in femicides compared to the same month in 2021 and Chiapas currently ranks fifth nationwide for this crime. Most cases of gender violence are not investigated. According to the organization For the Elevation of Women, six out of ten femicides that occur in Chiapas go unpunished.
For more information in Spanish:
Frente al incremento de la violencia de género en Chiapas, mujeres y niñas marcharon en ocasión del 25N (Desinformémonos, 25 de noviembre de 2022)
¡Ya basta! Mujeres exigen alto a la violencia con marcha en San Cristóbal (El Heraldo de Chiapas, 25 de noviembre de 2022)
Marchan en tuxtla por Día Internacional de la Eliminación de la Violencia contra la Mujer (El Heraldo de Chiapas, 25 de noviembre de 2022)
6 de 10 feminicidios quedan impunes en Chiapas (Diario del Sur, 9 de junio de 2022)
For more information from SIPAZ:
sipazen.wordpress.com 