On August 16, over 300 women marched to Mexico City’s prosecutor’s office. The protestors spray-painted graffiti on the building and the historical monument “El Angel de la Independencia,” painted the word “rapists” on the wall of a nearby police station, and covered Security Minister Jesús Orta Martínez in pink glitter. This sparked a movement coined “revolución diamantina,” or the “glitter revolution.”
Armed with picket signs reading “Justice!” alongside the names and faces of young victims of sexual violence, protestors were attempting to bring awareness to an alleged rape. On August 3, a 17-year-old girl in northern Mexico City was walking alone when four police officers forced her into a patrol car and repeatedly raped her.
When she attempted to report the crime the next day, the victim and her family had to wait several hours for medical authorities to arrive, and left before the examination could even be conducted. Four days later, when evidence was finally collected, city Attorney General Ernestina Godoy stated, “Without a proper case file to make a clear claim, we will not be manufacturing culprits.”
Mexican women are reacting not only to the most recent rape accusation but also to a history of violence against women in the country. In a recent survey, 97.9% of Mexican women stated they have been or knows someone who has been a victim of sexual violence or harassment. The hashtag #NoNosCuidanNosViolan (#TheyDon’tTakeCareOfUsTheyRapeUs) has gone viral nationwide.
The epidemic of violence against women in Mexico has fatal consequences. This year alone, approximately 1,812 women were killed between January and July.
Featured Image by Gabriel Saldana on Flickr
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Wendy Matson-Wells
September 18, 2019 at 9:21 am
Thank you for your article, as a survivor of this horrible crime of rape, my heart bleeds for these women and children, knowing it will take years for them to become whole again. In God We Trust