Every 22 hours a journalist is attacked in Mexico: IAPA

Every 22 hours, a journalist faces some sort of attack in Mexico, according to the regional vice-president for Latin America of the Press Freedom Committee of the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA), Mexican Carlos Salinas.

Most of these attacks are not denounced out of fear of repression and also because of self-censorship, according to Salinas' report on the freedom of the press in Mexico, a day before the official opening of the organization's meeting in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Most of the attacks are against women, with a total of 84 just in 2015. Besides physical attacks, 165 arbitrary arrests and threats by government officials have also been denounced.

Salinas expressed that a report issued by the National Human Rights Commission of Mexico indicates that, from 2000 the end of January 2016, there have been 109 murders of female journalists, 20 have disappeared since and 48 attacks have been reported since 2006.