The UN and the EU to help Mexico fight femicide through the Spotlight Initiative

The Spotlight program in Mexico is designed to strengthen, complement and support existing mechanisms and initiatives at federal, state, and municipal levels to eradicate femicide and other forms of violence against women and girls .

On May 29, United Nations, the European Union, and President López Obrador presented and signed the Spotlight initiative , a program to eradicate femicide in Mexico and that will benefit over 2 million women in Mexico, explained Interior Minister Olga Sánchez Cordero.

The Spotlight Initiative will be implemented in some of the deadliest areas for women in Mexico , including Ciudad Juárez, Ecatepec, Naucalpan , and Chilpancingo .

According to the Spotlight Initiative's website , the program consists of: “ United Nations teams will begin coordinating the implementation of programmes that will address legislative and policy gaps , strengthen institutions , promote gender-equitable attitudes , and provide quality services for survivors and reparations for victims of violence and their families . Critically, programmes will also strengthen and build women’s movements across Africa and Latin America .”

The Spotlight program aims to eliminate violence against women and girls in Argentina , El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mexico, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Uganda , and Zimbabwe.

During the program launch, Irinea Buendía , the mother of a victim of femicide , shared her grueling testimony and explained how the Mexican authorities have failed to eradicate femicide and how impunity reigns in the country.

The program will last four years and will focus on gender-violence ridden areas such as Chihuahua, the State of Mexico, and Guerrero , as well as other regions.

During the ceremony, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the Executive Director of UN Women , was also present, as well as Stefano Manservisi, Nadine Gasman , and Lydia Cacho .

10 women are murdered in Mexico every day

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