Blog 4: Women’s Rights Organizations

“It is satisfying to see them return to their activities and recapture their self-confidence, to remember their ambitions and desires. When you see this then you realize that this group is existing for a reason, because if it weren’t here, many more lives would probably be lost” –Esther Chavez Cano

In February 1999, a group of feminist activists in Ciudad Juarez established the city’s first sexual assault center, Casa Amiga: Centro de Crisis.  They were able to do this after successfully educating the locals against the perception that women in Juarez were cheap, promiscuous, and not worth the time and effort of investigators.  This sexual assault center became important because it gave women in Juarez a safe refuge from domestic violence, incest, and rape.  This crisis center became Juarez’ first and only rape crisis and sexual assault center.  There is a paid staff of three, four volunteer psychologists, and a handful of volunteers, who have dedicated their time and attended to hundreds of calls on rape, incest, and assault.  Staff help provide refuge from violence, therapy, legal counsel, and medical attention to victims.    

            The center struggles financially and has no operating budget.  Sometimes they do not have enough funds for salary or to pay their phone bill.  The funds that have arrived come from a variety of local and international sources, including funds from the Global Fund for Women for computers and staff training.  Staff and volunteers involved in this project have raised money and renovated a house that has been donated specifically for the Casa Amiga. 

            In response to Mexican authorities’ neglect and disregard for the many recommendations offered by national and international human rights organizations, mothers of the victims have formed non-profit organizations themselves.  Their missions are recovering the bodies of their daughters and seeking just punishment for those responsible for the murders.  Three of the most significant organizations  are: Justice For Our Daughters, Our Daughters Return Home, and Voices Without Echo.  

Justice for Our Daughters was formed in 2002 in Chihuahua City, Chihuahua Mexico, just south of Juarez.  It is a group that consists of family members of  victims,  legal advocates, and supporters.  They struggle for justice and human rights and want to bring awareness to the needs of Mexico’s growing population of young, vulnerable, working women.  They demand an end to stigmatizing women who need to work outside their homes to support themselves and their families.  The group demands the creation of new laws to promote public safety, proper legal management of missing person’s cases, and scientifically accurate identification of human remains.  They also demand that any representative of state authority who does not abide by the law and fulfill their duty to uphold the law and protect the right of Mexican citizens should be held accountable and punished.

             Our Daughters Return Home consists of mothers, family members, and friends of the victims who want to raise awareness of the situation and put pressure on the Mexican Government to focus and properly pay attention to these unsolved cases. 

            Voices Without Echo, was founded in 1998 and demands that reports of missing women be taken more seriously and acted upon more quickly by the police. The group also challenges the mayor, city and state law enforcement and government to better protect women in Juarez.  They are known for painting pink crosses on black telephone polls around Juarez to bring awareness to the issue. 
        

Unfortunately, Ciudad Juarez has outpaced Mexico City as the country’s murder capital with the murder rate of men and women increasing over the last five years.  While the murder rate of women is significantly less than men, it is noticeably higher than statistics reveal for female homicides per capita in any other major city in Mexico or in the United States!   These centers bring hope that change is possible in Mexico.  

References

Wright, Melissa W: "A Manifesto against Femicide". Geography and Women's Studies, The Penn State University.
Prieto-Carron, Marina. "No more killings! Women respond to Femicides in Central America" Gender and Development Vol. 15, No 1. March 2007.
Mora, Sergio de la. Gender Terrorism on the U.S. Mexican Border: Murder, Women, and Justice in Lourdes Portillo's Senorita Extraviada.  University of California. 2001.
Valdez, Diana Washington. The Killing Fields Harvest of Women. Washington D.C. Peace at the Border, 2006.
Fragraso, Julia M. " Serial Sexual Femicide in Cuidad Juarez: 1993-2001." Debate Feminista 25 (2002).