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The first quarter of 2019 was the most violent and deadly for Mexican woman in the country. On average, a woman was murdered every two hours and a half in Mexico, according to numbers released by the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP).

According to these numbers, from January 1 to April 30, 2019, at least 1,199 femicides and intentional homicide were perpetrated in Mexico; this means that, on average, at least 10 women are murdered in Mexico every day.

Femicides in the country have been on the rise: 302 women were murdered in January; 272 in February; 310 in March; and 315 in April.

Nevertheless, the increase in gender violence reached alarming numbers in previous years, for example, during the first quarters of 2015, 610 crimes were registered; meanwhile, 874 were registered in 2016 and 967 in 2017, while 1,142 crimes were registered in 2018.

In four years, the number of victims increased by 97%.

Mexican researcher Lourdes Enríquez, from the UNAM's Gender Studies Research and Study Center (CIEG), explains that the increase is the result of impunity:

“The problem is that nothing happens, there is total impunity (…) It's true that we live in a violent time but we can't generalize that all these murders took place in public (…) In the worldview of those who deliver justice, if a woman was murdered it was because she asked for it.”

Unfortunately, the first quarter of 2019 was deadly for girls and teenagers too: from January to April, at least 114 minors between 0 and 17 were murdered; that is, one was murdered every day.



Although this has been the deadliest year for Mexican girls yet, the femicide rate has been increasing in the last years. In the first quarter of 2018, 98 femicides were registered; 82 in 2017; 74 in 2016, and 84 in 2015.

Furthermore, the information published by the SESNSP shows that only 25% of the murders of women between January and April were cataloged as femicides.

Also, according to the SESNSP, 10 states concentrate 65% of the 1,199 femicides that have been perpetrated during the first quarter of this year.

The deadliest Mexican states are:

1. State of Mexico: 152 femicides.

2. Jalisco: 102 femicides.

3. Guanajuato: 99 femicides.

4. Veracruz: 73 femicides.

5. Chihuahua: 71 femicides.

6. Mexico City: 70 femicides.

7. Baja California: 65 femicides.

8. Guerrero: 54 femicides.

9. Puebla: 51 femicides.

10. Oaxaca: 48 femicides.

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