Gender Violence in Mexico Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multidimensional Analysis

Introduction

Women and girls constitute half of the world's population, yet they continue to suffer discrimination and violence (UN, 2021). Gender-based violence is a generalized burden that women begin to suffer at a very young age and that has worsened with the confinement conditions derived from social distancing measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately 736 million women (one out of three) suffer physical or sexual violence inflicted by an intimate partner or sexual assaults perpetrated by others, a figure that has remained stable over the last decade (WHO, 2021). According to data from the United Nations UN (2021), one in four young women between 15 and 24 years old that have had an intimate relationship has suffered gender violence from their partner.

A study conducted by UN Women (2021b), established that distancing conditions potentially locked women down with their abusers, creating conditions in which violence against women escalated, suggesting that 45% of women (or a woman they know) have experienced a form of gender-based violence and that one in four participants stated that household conflicts became more frequent during the pandemic making them feel insecure or unsafe in their own homes.

This phenomenon is generalized and complex. It is related to economic inequalities, socio-cultural patterns linked to norms, values, roles, and meanings surrounding being a woman and being a man. Violence against women manifests itself in different ways and different spheres and deprives the enjoyment of rights and freedoms under equal conditions between women and men (INMUJERES, 2021).

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), approved by world leaders in 2015, proposes a roadmap to achieve sustainable progress that leaves no one behind. In this sense, achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women is an integral part of the agenda, guaranteeing respect for the rights of women and girls through these objectives is a very important way to achieve inclusion and justice, as well as promote economies that benefit all people (UN Women, 2021).

Mexico has long been regarded as one of the world's most violent countries and one with the highest level of inequalities (Valencia-Londoño, Nateras-González, Bruno-Solera, Strom-Paz, 2021), and violence against women has been escalating every year. According to statistics, two-thirds of women in Mexico have experienced some form of violence (INEGI-b, 2020). Before the pandemic started, 2019 was declared the most violent year, with a 2.5% increase in violent crimes in 2018 (Fry, 2020).

In Mexico, violence against women is a public problem. According to the National Information System (INEGI, 2016), 66% of women aged 15 years or older have faced at least one act of violence in their lifetimes, and the majority of the violent acts had occurred in their community or public spaces. This information seems to be corroborated by international sources, which suggests that two thirds of women in Mexico have experienced violence and live in a climate of impunity and lack of response from the state (Murray, 2021). The National Information System (INEGI, 2016) also reported that 43% of violent acts against women in Mexico were carried out by their partners and 53% by other aggressors.