Women of Juarez: Murder, Abuse Continues in Mexican City

Over the past two decades, more than 500 women have been murdered in Juarez, Mexico (the fourth-most populous city in Mexico), and its surrounding state, Chihuahua; approximately 250 women are still missing. Two thirds of these cases of rape, torture and murder are instances of domestic violence, and the remaining third are women that are targeted specifically for their appearances and social status. Most of those targeted are between the ages of 10 and 30, slim, and have long, brown hair. Almost all of these women come from poor families, most are uneducated, and many work in the factories to which Juarez is home. The current state of Juarez is the result of a few major interrelated factors that lead to a "culture of violence"[1] in Chihuahua.

Approximately 70 percent of the income in Juarez is based on the illegal drug cartel. The structure of these organizations is corrupt, but they command incredible power in the city, making those involved practically immune to the law. Often times, the rape and killing of a woman is considered to be a sort of rite of passage among these groups, or is commonly accepted as an apt celebration of a successful run across the U.S. - Mexican border to El Paso, Texas, a mere ten miles from Juarez. It is also speculated that the killings are related to other illicit activities such as black-market organ trafficking and prostitution.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) allows for the building of factories across the U.S. - Mexican border. Many American companies have built large scale factories in Juarez, where labor is hired for between five and seven dollars a day, which is far more than the average subsistence farmer earns each day elsewhere in Mexico, which has caused a mass exodus from all over the country to Chihuahua and Juarez. Women working in these factories are especially vulnerable on the journey to and from work each day, where one missed bus or a minute or two of tardiness can result in being left on the street for the day, where countless are abducted. The city's population boom has made it difficult to pinpoint and prosecute individual criminals, giving most felons opportunity for repeat offenses.

Factory managers tend to hire women rather than men because of their "nimble fingers" and "docile temperaments". Combined with the overcrowding of Juarez, this creates a society where most women can easily get a job and huge numbers of men remain unemployed. In the traditional social atmosphere of Mexico, however, many find this shift in male - female gender identities unacceptable. Many men see the establishment of female independence as a crime in and of itself, and, to compensate, practice extreme male dominance in the household, which results in spousal and child abuse, marital and paternal rape, and, fairly often, the killing of wives and daughters by their husbands and fathers.

These cases are well-documented, but very little, if anything, is being done to stop the femicide also known as the "Machinadora Murders" or "factory murders". The Mexican government and police force is overpowered within the city by the sheer power of the drug cartel, which has no intention of putting an end to the murders. The same problem faces the United States government, force is limited by the drug trafficking and the few foreigners who have entered the city limits have all been faced with immediate danger. Factory owners create some safety precautions for women, such as private shuttles and safety training, though factory managers often ignore these precautions or create rules and procedures that enhance the danger of their employees. Additionally, women who are assaulted but not killed are left with few options, as there is only a single rape-crisis center in Juarez.

Unfortunately, it has been documented that violence against women is the leading violation of human rights in the world, and Juarez only ranks fourth-highest in murder rates in Mexico (behind Toluca, Guadalajara, and Acapulco).

[1] All references and quotes drawn from "Women of Juarez" presentation at Chapman University on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007, especially the lecture of Dr. Rafael Luevano