Just a few weeks after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum was subjected to an incident of street harassment, thousands of women are expected to march this Tuesday, November 25, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Protest is not only about commemorating that symbolic history, but is also an urgent demand in the face of a context of structural violence. In the country, 7 out of 10 women (adolescents and adults) over 15 years old have experienced at least one incident of violence in their lives, whether 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 heart of the feminist and women’s struggle in Mexico. Among the most pressing issues is the search for justice for victims of femicide, disappearances and sexual assaults, crimes that continue to be characterized by impunity. Another focal point is the demand for a guaranteed budget for shelters for women and children who are victims of violence. Growing concern about digital violence is also high on this year’s agenda. The use of social networks to harass, defame or threaten women, the non-consensual posting of intimate images, coordinated harassment and, more recently, the creation of… Deep fakes Of a sexual nature, it has become a new front for attacks.
The scenario is not encouraging. Not only did a recent report from the World Health Organization specify that nearly one in three women in the world have experienced sexual or intimate partner violence at least once in their lifetime (about 840 million women), but the decline in this type of violence has been “painfully slow,” falling by just 0.2% per year in the past two decades.
Schedule and route of the walk
The main rally is scheduled to take place at 3:00 p.m. In Glorieta de las Mujeres que Luchan, on Paseo de la Reforma. Mobilization is expected to begin around 3:30 p.m., with a symbolic stop at Palestine Libre Square, in Alameda Central, before continuing toward the Zocalo in the capital.
The National Shelter Network has called a demonstration for 1:00 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 Glorieta de las Mujeres que Luchan and Glorieta del Caballito);
- Juarez Street;
- September 16th Street;
- Lázaro Cárdenas Central Axis;
- 5 Rue de Maio;
- Surroundings of the historic centre.
As frequently happens in the face of women’s protests, the authorities of the Mexican capital have protected buildings in the historic center, such as the Nascimento Palace and the Metropolitan Cathedral, with metal fences. Like some businesses on Paseo de la Reforma.
At her conference on Monday, President Sheinbaum called for the demonstration to be peaceful. The President also said that next November 25 her government, led by Women’s Minister Sitlali Hernandez, will announce progress on the comprehensive plan to punish sexual assault, which proposes, among other things, to homogenize the crime across the country.