SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — During the first six months of 2024, the city of Tijuana almost equaled the number of murders against women for all of last year, according to Mexico’s National System of Public Safety.
The agency says these “femicides” are happening at a pace never seen before.
It’s also calling for Baja state and local police agencies to launch 39 measures to ensure women’s public safety including more stringent police protection, more prosecution and stronger penalties for those who kill women.
Other groups also urge public safety agencies to work together to protect women.
“We need to work as a team and be more efficient,” said Ixchel Guadalupe Barbosa Romero, head of Baja’s Human Rights Commission.
She’s also asking for the formation of special police squads that will specialize in preventing crimes against women.
Both Tijuana police and Baja state police have said they lack the personnel and the budget to do this.
Barbosa Romero also wants schools to create awareness campaigns to educate children, especially young men, to treat women with respect and dignity.
“These efforts have proven successful in other regions,” she said.
According to statistics, through June 2024, 18 murder investigations involving women had been opened in Tijuana, there were 20 in all of last year.
“Violence against women is due to several cultural factors that need to be addressed, we need to get to the root cause, including our legal system,” Barbosa Romero said. “Many times charges are brought, but there’s no follow through, we need to insist the state attorney general’s office does its job.”
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