Panel on Juárez slayings may dissolve
El Paso Times
"The Mexican federal commission created by former Mexico President Vicente Fox in response to the sexual murders of women in Juárez may be on borrowed time. The administration of President Felipe Calderón is looking into discontinuing the so-called commission for the prevention and eradication of violence against women in Juárez, commission officials in Juárez said..." click link to read article by L. Gilot.
From the Amigos de las Mujeres de Juárez website" Since 1993, more than 450 women have been murdered in Ciudad Juárez, the sister city of El Paso, Texas. Of these deaths, Amnesty International states approximately 130 have been sexual-torture killings of young women, ages 12–19. Four-hundred and fifty more women are missing and the crimes have spread to Chihuahua City. The fear of violence is present for all of us. We must act collectively and join our efforts as one community in seeking justice and creating social change to stop the violence against women. Please contact us if you would like to collaborate or offer support to the families of the murdered women in Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua City: amigosdemujeres@yahoo.com."
4 comments:
Yikes, I remember when the number was around 300 not too long ago. It's not good it's going up and they are cancelling this panel.
Yes, I agree... the panel's impending dissolution is disheartening. I don't how effective it was to begin with, but if they are to give up on it completely without revitalizing its efforts, this sends a message of hopelessness and blatant disinterest in justice for the murdered women.
Here's an excerpt I found in an Amnesty International article... it's a year old, but many of its points lead me to think about all of the implications that result from incompetence and/or apathy concerning violence against women:
"The PGR conclusions also appear to ignore the recommendations of international and national organizations, such as the government's own Special Commission for the Prevention and Eradication of Violence against Women in Ciudad Juárez, to ensure that the crimes are analysed from a gender perspective, in order to determine the role the victim's gender played in the motive and commission of the crime.
The PGR appears to have concluded that only those crimes involving sexual violence -- approximately 20% of the 379 murders documented - amount to gender violence. Domestic violence appears not to be considered gender-based violence and also appears to be necessarily excluded from the category of sexual violence. Other murders are classified as resulting from social violence, a concept which appears to necessarily exclude, without explanation, the gender of the victim as a factor in the murder. Another element not given proper consideration is the role played by the climate of violence against women and impunity which may have facilitated the commission of crimes."
the whole article is here:
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR410122006?open&of=ENG-2AM
This is horrifying -- I don't understand how people can walk away while it's happening.
yes, without the federal government's direct support, I wonder if there will be a "watchdog" presence over the state's investigations now.
In reading the Gilot EP Times article again, it sounds like there was some hope from the panel at some point: "(Guadalupe) Morfín had been appointed by Fox and quit last November. She had been a passionate critic of police negligence in the murder investigations by the state of Chihuahua. She has not been replaced.
Last July, federal officials quietly closed their inquiry into the murders without making any arrests, and they gave the 14 cases they had investigated back to Chihuahua state authorities, leaving relatives with little hope the killings will ever be solved."
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