Sexual violence in Mexico grew over the last five years

In the last five years there have been nearly 3 million cases of sexual violence in Mexico, i.e. 600,000 cases per year and 1,345 cases per day, a study released by the Executive Committee for Victims (CEAV) revealed.

According to the study “The other invisible victims” -that includes information from 2010 to 2015- 90% of victims of sexual violence are women, and nine out of every 10 assaults are committed by men aged between 16 and 45. However, only 83,000 investigations were opened during the same period and only 10 out of every 1,000 sex offenders were prosecuted.

Jaime Rochín, president of CEAV, said that these results reveal that sexual violence against women and girls "is standardized and is linked to structural discrimination." He added that authorities often “revictimize” victims by blaming them and intimidating them and that the laws themselves contribute to institutional violence."

The study also revealed that four out of every 10 victims are less than 15 years old, that 60% of rapes and sexual abuses occur at home and that 60% of sexual violence victims knew their assailant because he was their relative or neighbor.

Laura Martínez Rodríguez, director of the Association for the Integral Development of Raped People (ADIVAC), warned that these figures do not include data from the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), neither from the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers (ISSSTE), because they do not report victims of sexual violence treated at their hospitals.