Breathe
By Mtra. Ariadna Camacho Contreras
As we do every 25th of every month, we dress in orange to raise awareness and prevent violence against women and girls. An act that, undoubtedly, should be present in each and every one of us permanently because violence is a phenomenon that permeates all latitudes and spheres of society.
The UN estimates that worldwide, 736 million women - nearly one in three - have been victims of physical or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in their lifetime, meaning that 30 percent of women aged 15 and older have been raped, while nearly 140 women or girls were killed every day by someone in their own family.
Mexico is no exception. Women continue to face multiple obstacles in exercising their rights, as they are exposed to situations of violence, abuse and unequal treatment simply because they are women, which stem from a predominantly macho culture, where beliefs, values and behaviors place men above women, creating gender roles and stereotypes that lead to discrimination. As a result, women face disadvantages in all senses, a situation that is accentuated when we talk about indigenous women, women with disabilities, and women deprived of liberty.
Although we have made significant progress in terms of legislation to guarantee women's rights and gender equality, there is still much work to be done to achieve substantive equality, because there is still a gap between what is stipulated in laws, programs and budgets, with respect to the degree of compliance in practice. Only substantive equality will allow us to exercise our rights fully, without political, cultural, economic and social obstacles or barriers.
Therefore, federal, state and municipal institutions must work together with society, academia and the private sector to prevent, address, punish and eradicate violence against women. It is an issue that concerns all of us. We cannot allow the normalization of cases of violence, nor continue with the impunity that prevails in our country. It is essential to work together to consolidate substantive equality in access to rights and opportunities, and to guarantee that women, teenagers, girls and boys live a life free of violence.
We need a humane and efficient justice system within the reach of the entire population. It is urgent that there be coordination and permanent dialogue between the areas of Public Security, the Attorney General's Offices and the Judiciary, in the different orders of government, to attend in a timely and dignified manner, as well as with a gender perspective, to each and every one of the women and girls who are victims of any type of violence.
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