Mexican authorities fail to protect women who are victims of sexual abuse

In Mexico , when a woman is sexually abused , the government has to provide her with the emergency contraceptive pill or perform an abortion if the victim is pregnant and decides to terminate the pregnancy. This measure was implemented in 2005, as part of the Norm 046-SSA2-2005 issued by the Health Ministry . Although there was a lot of resistance and constitutional controversies were brought before the Supreme Court , where the court determined it is legal and meant to protect the rights of women .

According to experts, between 2016 and 2019, at least 47,241 rape reports were filed and 11,914 sexual abuse cases were reported; however, the norm 046-SSA2-2005 was applied to 422 women only.

Information published by EL UNIVERSAL today shows that the norm 046-SSA2-2005 is barely used in several states. According to experts, doctors , experts , and health institutions are not involved in the issue; moreover, there are legal voids surrounding the norm.

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There are cases where minors who fall pregnant after being abused, and instead of telling them they have the right to abortion , they are treated like regular patients at hospitals . In other cases, the victim is a minor who is not mentally ready to understand the aggression, as in the case of Esmeralda, whose family discovered the pregnancy at the 12th week, a period during which the norm allows abortion .

As in many other cases, especially in regards to the rights of women , there seem to be two Mexicos : in one, women are not aware of their rights, they exercise and demand them through protests and strikes. On the other hand, there are women who inhabit marginalized areas where physical and sexual violence are justified as part of customs and practices.

Therefore, marginalized areas should be a priority. Protecting women should be a priority. Violence against women should never be normalized.

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