Ecatepec, Mexico, has one of the highest femicide rates in the country. Without enforcement of laws against gender-based violence, victims’ family members have had to become their own advocates as they seek justice for their murdered loved ones.
Lesvy Berlin Rivera Osorio’s death in Mexico City was ruled a suicide amidst judicial irregularities and impunity. Activists are mobilizing to denounce the death not only as murder, but also as feminicide.
When the bodies of two female reporters were found dead in Mexico City last Thursday, public opinion questioned whether their murder should be investigated as a crime against free expression or a crime against women. Before any evidence was gathered, it was assumed that they were killed because they were reporters on the trail of information that somebody didn’t want uncovered. The second supposition was that they were killed simply because they were women.