A recent opinion column published by the Mexican newspaper El Universal renews pressure on authorities to take the crime of femicide—the killing of a woman because of her gender—more seriously from the very first steps of an investigation. The piece argues that Mexico’s justice system still too often misclassifies these killings as ordinary homicides, a mistake that can weaken prosecutions and allow perpetrators to avoid the harsher penalties that femicide laws are meant to impose.
Femicide has been a legally recognized, aggravated crime in Mexico since reforms were introduced starting in 2012, carrying stiffer sentences than standard homicide. Yet activists and legal experts have long complained that police, prosecutors, and even judges frequently fail to apply the proper legal framework, whether due to lack of training, bias, or simple negligence. The result, critics say, is a pattern of impunity that leaves families of victims without justice and does little to deter future violence.
The column calls for stronger institutional commitment: better-trained investigators, gender-sensitive protocols applied consistently across states, and real accountability for officials who mishandle these cases. It frames the issue as not just a legal technicality but a matter of whether the state truly protects women’s lives.
You can read the full opinion piece, in Spanish, on El Universal’s website.
Source: Investigar y sancionar el feminicidio (eluniversal.com.mx).
Image: Fibonacci Blue, BY 2.0 (via Openverse).