In Some Mexican States, Property Damage Punished More Harshly Than Crimes Against Women Mexico News Daily
go to original April 25, 2016

The Fight Club: Boom in Mexican Women Learning Self-Defence (France 24)

Gender equality has become the buzzword du jour in political discourse, but it is still a distant goal when the mishmash of Mexico’s federal and state laws is taken into consideration.

The civil codes of at least 20 states have yet to be harmonized, with the result that there is not full equality between men and women. Crimes such as statutory rape, sexual harassment, kidnapping and homicide carry different punishments when committed against girls or women.

Inequality is also present in civil matters: in at least 14 states recently divorced women have to wait one year before they can marry again, while men may do so immediately.

In several states property damage earns tougher sentences than crimes, fatal or otherwise, committed against females.

Despite legislative progress aimed at guaranteeing women lives free of violence, discrimination and trafficking, there still exist laws such as the one in the state of Nuevo León: kidnapping a woman is a crime, but it is pardoned if the kidnapper marries his victim.

To punish sexual harassment, the penal codes of Zacatecas, Tamaulipas and the federation require demonstrable damage or injury, a condition that should be irrelevant as the crime infringes on the victim’s freedom and sexual safety.

Read the rest at Mexico News Daily

Related: These Images Say a Lot About the State of Violence Against Women in Mexico (Global Post)

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!