Just a few weeks after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum suffered an incident of sexual harassment on the street, thousands of women are expected to march this Tuesday, November 25, to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The protest not only commemorates that symbolic date, but is also an urgent request in the face of a context of structural violence. In the country, 7 out of 10 women (adolescents and adults) over the age of 15 have experienced at least one episode of violence in their life, be it psychological, sexual, physical or economic, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi).
There are some issues that have been placed at the center of the feminist and women’s struggle in Mexico. One of the most urgent is the search for justice for the victims of feminicides, disappearances and sexual assaults, crimes that continue to be marked by impunity. Another central point is the request for a guaranteed budget for shelters for women and children victims of violence. Growing concern about digital violence also features high on this year’s agenda. The use of social networks to harass, defame or threaten women, the non-consensual dissemination of intimate images, coordinated harassment and, more recently, the creation of deepfake of a sexual nature, have become a new frontier of attacks.
The scenario is not encouraging. A recent World Health Organization (WHO) report not only established that nearly one in three women worldwide have experienced sexual or intimate partner violence at least once in their lives (approximately 840 million women), but that the reduction in this type of violence has been “painfully slow,” with a decline of just 0.2% per year over the past two decades.
Program and route of the march
The main rally is scheduled for 3pm. at the Glorieta de las Mujeres que Luchan, on Paseo de la Reforma avenue. The mobilization is expected to begin around 3.30 pm, with a symbolic stop in Plaza Palestine Libre, in Alameda Central, before continuing towards the capital’s Zócalo.
The National Shelter Network is calling a demonstration at 1 p.m. in front of the National Palace “for the right to live without violence”.
Roads that will be affected include:
- Paseo de la Reforma (between the Glorieta de las Mujeres que Luchan and the Glorieta del Caballito);
- Juarez Avenue;
- Avenue 16 September;
- Lázaro Cárdenas Central Axis;
- Avenida 5 de Mayo;
- Surroundings of the Historic Center;
As often happens when faced with women’s protests, the authorities of the Mexican capital protected the buildings of the Historic Center, such as the Nacimiento Palace and the Metropolitan Cathedral, with metal fences. The same as some shops on Paseo de la Reforma avenue.
In his briefing this Monday, President Sheinbaum called for the demonstration to be peaceful. The president also specified that her Government will announce on November 25, under the leadership of the Women’s Secretary, Citlali Hernández, the progress of the global plan for the repression of sexual abuse, which, among other things, proposes the standardization of the crime throughout the country.
