By Mark O’Brien
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

MEXICO CITY, Mexico — A new report released Wednesday said Mexico is not doing enough to protect women despite increasing levels of violence and discrimination.

Human rights group Amnesty International issued the report to a United Nations committee, highlighting the rising number of crimes against women and the low success rate of Mexican authorities to convict offenders.

“The state of women’s rights in Mexico is alarming,” said Rupert Knox, a researcher at AI.  “In the past years, Mexico has approved a number of laws and institutions designed to protect women from discrimination and violence.  Much of the problem, however, lies in the lack of effective implementation of these laws and the weaknesses of the institutions.”

The report said Mexican police solve about one of every 21 rapes.  It also accused the police of having flawed procedures for documenting murders of women, including the failure of carrying out proper autopsies in many cases.

According to the report, U.N. figures show there were more than 34,000 women murdered in Mexico between 1985 and 2009.  In 2010 alone, 2,418 women were murdered, the report said.  That averaged to nearly seven murders per day.

One area that has seen a sharp increase in murders of women is the state of Chihuahua, the report said.  In 2010, one of every 11 victims was a woman, compared to one of every 14 in 2008.  Through June, there were more than 130 killings of women in Chihuahua alone.

Mexican prosecutors received nearly 15,000 complaints of rape in 2009, although AI estimates the number actually reached 74,000 since a small percentage of rapes are reported.  Of the cases prosecuted, AI said only 2,795 ended with a conviction.

“The poor quality investigations by Mexico state prosecutors also undermined the outcome of judicial proceedings, ensuring acquittals and decisions not to prosecute,” the report alleged.

To prove that point, AI referenced a 2006 case when Mexican police allegedly sexually abused 26 women arrested during protests in the town of San Salvador.  Several police officers were charged in the incident, but all were acquitted for a lack of evidence.  Nine of the women have now taken their cases to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

AI is calling on both outgoing President Felipe Calderón and President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto to do more to stem the violence against women.

“The Mexican authorities, led by both the actual and new government to take office in December, must move to implement commitments to protect women’s rights to end abuses and impunity,” Knox said.

For further information, please see:

GlobalPost — Amnesty International: Mexico Failing to Protect Women from Violence, Discrimination — 12 July 2012

Latin American Herald Tribune — AI Criticizes Impunity for Violence Against Women in Mexico — 12 July 2012

Amnesty International — Mexico Fails to Tackle Increased Levels of Violence Against Women — 11 July 2012

Chicago Tribune — Report Chides Female Violence in State of Mexico’s President-Elect — 11 July 2012