Feminists In Sonora Denounce Alleged Attacks On Participants Of Women’s Marches

By Kendal Blust
Published: Friday, March 20, 2020 - 4:39pm
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Protesters carry a banner that reads, "this revolution is feminist," during the International Women's Day March in Hermosillo, Sonora, on March 8, 2020.
Kendal Blust/KJZZ
Marchers hold up signs in Hermosillo, Sonora on March 8, 2020.
Kendal Blust/KJZZ
Protesters hold up signs calling for an end to femicides in Sonora during a protests on March 8, 2020.

This week, feminist groups in Sonora released a public statement denouncing attacks, threats and intimidation against participants during and after two women’s marches in Hermosillo this year.

Several women who participated in feminist anti-violence marches on Feb. 23 and March 8 — International Women's Day — in Hermosillo were reportedly physically attacked, threatened and intimidated, according to the statement signed by more than two-hundred feminist groups across Mexico.

The alleged incidents include two men physically assaulting women during a march on International Women’s Day.

Five other women’s car windows were reportedly broken the same evening. A woman who asked not to be named out of concern for her safety said her mother heard men yelling her name and threats outside their home during the incident. In the following days, she was also followed and intimidated by unknown men until she left the city for her safety, she said.

"I couldn't leave my house, but I didn't feel safe there, either," she said. "Those here horrible days. Horrible."

In the letter, the women put responsibility for their safety on all levels of government in Mexico and asked that the incidents be formally investigated.

The letter also lays out other allegations, including that false pages on social media imitated feminist groups in Hermosillo and called for vandalism and violence during the marches, and attempts to publicly reveal the identities of participants in the march in order to shame and criminalize the women and their protests.

Women across Mexico, and other parts of Latin America, have been protesting rising violence against women. In Sonora last year, the number of women murdered increased 80%, from 65 in 2018 to 117 in 2019.

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