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Mexico City: At least 8 sex crimes reported every day

The areas with the most reports were Cuauhtémoc, Miguel Hidalgo, Benito Juárez, Venustiano Carranza, and Iztacalco

Sexual harassment, rape, and more attrocious crimes are reported every day - Photo: Adrián Fernández/EL UNIVERSAL
14/04/2019 |15:24Montserrat Peralta, Berenice Santos y Paola Odiardi |
Redacción El Universal
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In Mexico City, from 2016 to 2018 , on average at least 8 investigations for sex crimes were opened every day, according to Mexico City's Digital Innovation Agency . The reports register harassment, sexual abuse, rape, statutory rape, gang-rape, rape during a car theft, and rape by a person close to the victim.

Government

campaigns have a basic premise: raise your voice . From 2016 to 2018, 8,410 women did raise their voices, but Prosecutors are the first to dismiss their cases.

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December 5, 2018,

was the worst day for women: 24 sexual aggressions were reported. Sixteen of these reports were for sexual abuse , a crime cataloged as a “low-impact crime” by official statistics. On October 1, 2018 , the situation was similar. Prosecutor offices in 9 municipalities in Mexico City received 23 reports , 7 were for rape .

In 2016, Mexico City had a rate of 58 reports for every 100,000 women in the city . The numbers were terrible, there were 7 new reports every day . The areas with the most reports were Cuauhtémoc, Miguel Hidalgo, Benito Juárez, Venustiano Carranza, and Iztacalco . From the 2,692 cases reported in 2016, 590 were for rape .

But in 2017 , the prosecution's investigation files of sex crimes lowered: 2,135 crimes were reported. This decrease didn't last long. In 2018 , at least 3,583 investigations were opened. Also, Coyoacán joined the list of areas with the most reports. Every day, 10 women reported sexual aggression in Mexico ; nevertheless, these numbers are only a fraction of the sexual aggressions women endure.

At the offices of the Association for the Development of Abused People (ADIVAC) , they help at least 100 rape victims every week. They report that only 15% of the victims take legal action . The re-victimization they are subjected to is the main obstacle. “The situation hasn't changed since 1983. The approach and access to justice are full of prejudice, said Laura Martínez, the founder and director of ADIVAC.

The non-official number confirms the results from the 2018 National Victimization and Perception about Public Security Survey (Envipe) , carried out by the Inegi . The document specifies that 98% of the victims of a sexual crime don't report it . Also, Mexico City's General Prosecutor, Ernestina Godoy , claims the previous administratio n hid the existence of 667 rape investigations for rape . The real numbers could show a terrible reality.

Experts agree: nor the laws, protocols, or existing laws with a gender perspective will be enough to have access to justice . “There needs to raise awareness in regards to this and that the mechanisms focus on the prevention and follow-up. The normalization of violence has to stop. It's not something that we have to accept in our culture,” said Belén Sanz, UN Women's representative in Mexico.

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