According to an article, 2019 wins the top spot as the year where a lot of violence was reported in Mexico. One of the alarming parts of this report is the number of women being a victim of crime and violence in the country. 

Based on an article, there has been an inclining trend of violence on women in the country. It means that there is an increasing number of women being victimized by violence and crime in Mexico.

Femicide in Mexico

Before the coronavirus pandemic hit Mexico, activists have been rallying to see actions and policy changes in the country to help protect the women in Mexico from femicide. Even during the pandemic, protesters rallied to make everyone see the alarming issue of femicide in the country. 

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has been criticized for his insufficient support on the country's fight against the violence on women in the country. However, his leadership had not overlooked these issues as during his first few days in office, a law was passed in the country that declares femicide as a separate criminal offense, according to an article. This had also led to his leadership devising a plan to combat gender-based violence in the country. 

What is Femicide?

 Femicide is a crime that affects women which are commonly inflicted by men, according to an article. 

Based on the World Health Organization or WHO, violence on women also includes verbal and emotional violence. It means that violence on women is not only through physically hurting women as it also includes pain inflicted through verbal means and emotional abuse. 

WHO defines femicide as the killing of women or girls due to their gender by either a man or another female. 

According to WHO, most of the cases of femicide are women who are in abusive relationships. Furthermore, women who experience violence are often hurt by their former relationships. 

The Difference Between Male Homicide and Femicide

WHO says there is a difference between male homicide and femicide because femicide focuses commonly on the partner living with a woman who verbally, sexually, physically, and emotionally abuses her where the woman is left powerless to defend herself from the continuous abuse from her partner. 

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Types of Femicide

Femicide can be classified into different types, according to WHO. 

Those women who experience violence from their partners or former partners is called intimate femicide. 

Another type of femicide is called murders in the name of honor. This classification of femicide is made due to sexual relationships with a partner outside a relationship, pregnancy from a partner outside marriage, and adultery. Also, WHO states that another event under this classification is rape. It means that some women get killed for being raped in the name of the honor of the man or partner. 

Furthermore, WHO states that another type of femicide is called dowry-related femicide. This occurs when women get killed by their in-laws. The seen cause of the killing is related to dowry. 

The common type of femicide that occurs in Latin America is the systematic non-intimate killing of women. This type of femicide occurs when a planned murder to done to women. It is not intimate because women are murdered by people whom they have no relation with.