The United Nations has designated Nov. 25 as International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women to raise awareness about the true scale of gender-based violence around the world. In Mexico, women are taking to the streets in ongoing protest against the violence they face.
Women across Mexico joined protests, held workshops and posted messages on social media to mark the day. It’s part of an ongoing movement to end rampant gender-based violence in a country where an average of 10 women and girls are murdered every day.
"Violence at home, digital violence, partner violence, gender-based violence, and, there’s violence everywhere," said Krimilda Bernal is a researcher for the citizen watchdog group the Sonoran Security Observatory. "That's why we're not staying silent anymore."
Bernal said violence against women has reached crisis levels in Mexico. But feminist groups have been demanding that their leaders and communities do more to keep them safe, by ending impunity and making it easier for victims to seek help.
And, she says, when the government fails to protect them, women are creating their own networks to help each other.
