Physical and online violence against women journalists in Mexico has increased in recent years. Government preventive measures lack efficacy, and impunity for such violence is widespread. Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s newly elected president and the country’s first woman leader, has promised to change the course for the better.
Attacks against journalists continue to rise in Mexico, the deadliest country in Latin America for journalists in 2024. The Mexico office of Article 19 recorded 639 attacks on journalists in 2024, a 13.9 percent increase compared to the previous year. And four out of every 10 attacks against journalists in Mexico target women, according to Mariana Suárez, Article 19’s Central America and Mexico protection coordinator.
Overall, Article 19’s report recorded 979 attacks on women journalists from 2018 to 2024, during the presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador. These attacks included intimidation, harassment, abuse of public power, and threats. Although López Obrador made a promise to end corruption and impunity in 2018, he became known for his verbal attacks on journalists who criticized him. Meanwhile, López Obrador’s administration failed to prevent impunity for violent crimes against reporters.
Women journalists face greater risks than men
According to Suárez, women journalists in Mexico face physical, psychological, verbal, and symbolic violence. She said the attacks targeted at women have “a particular dimension” and often include “a gendered and sexual component”. Suárez says that this occurs often “when public officials have an agenda of discrediting and delegitimizing women journalists work while stigmatizing them through a sexist or misogynistic lens”.
Suárez said the main reason for the growing instances of attacks on women journalists is impunity. Insufficient investigations strengthen the belief that perpetrators can get away with such attacks without consequences, she said. Impunity is also a factor in increased online attacks on women, which Suárez considers to be exceptionally concerning. These attacks range from defamation campaigns on social media to death threats and sexual violence.
Protection efforts
In 2012 the Mexican Congress approved a law on the protection of human rights defenders and journalists. According to Suárez, the law “establishes cooperation between the federal government and other entities and municipalities to protect the psychological, moral, and economic integrity of journalists, as well as that of their families.” Implementation is based on a risk analysis and protection measures could consist of streamlined police patrols, accessing bodyguards to journalists, armored vehicles and bulletproof vests.
“These protection mechanisms almost always function in such a way that after a journalist reports an attack, the mechanism contacts them and asks for certain paperwork to verify their identity. Then there is an incorporation process with scheduled measures”, Suárez said.
However, the Protection Mechanism is “slow and bureaucratic”, she said. She added that the risk assessments are basically “a timeline of assaults” which lack context and legal analysis. Suárez adds that the protection plans are reactive without preventive measures such as training nor statements. Suárez thinks that the mechanisms for investigation and sanctioning should be better built up, as should training on gender-related issues. And digital attacks, which are often downplayed, must be addressed.
There have also been regional efforts to address the situation, including some led by journalists themselves. For instance, to prevent violence towards journalists in northern Mexico, journalist Melva Frutos helped establish an organization in 2014 called Red de Periodistas del Noreste de México (Network of Journalists of the Northeast of Mexico). According to Frutos, its mission is to foster local journalists’ protection and report of the attacks to the authorities by bringing together journalists, media professionals, and communicators in the region.
Momentum for the better with the new government
Mexican first female president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has stated that she is fostering women’s rights in the region that is known to be one of the most dangerous for women. Recent years under López Obrador’s presidency already saw some milestones, such as the first woman to lead the country’s Supreme Court, the first female governor of the central bank, and has achieved gender parity in Congress.
Will the safety of women journalists improve under Sheinbaum?
“We hope that she will emphasize the need to address violence against women journalists”, Suárez said. “Still, it is too early to know whether things will improve or not.”
Frutos said that despite Sheinbaum having a friendly relationship with the media, she is a follower of López Obrador, who attacked journalists frequently. Therefore, she is more skeptical regarding Sheinbaum’s policy towards press freedom. Suárez emphasizes that it is crucial for the authorities “to constantly, clearly, publicly and firmly recognize the legitimacy and value of journalistic work”.
Despite Sheinbaum’s statements, violence against women remains a national problem in Mexico. To change course, it is essential for authorities at all levels of government “to adopt public discourse that prevents violence against women and not exposing them to greater risks”, Suárez said. Mexican authorities have to strongly condemn attacks on journalists and “to act with due diligence and urgency” to check the facts and sanction the offenders, she said.
Suárez added that, more broadly, it is critical to build up a wider environment that respects women’s rights and prevents harassment in all its forms. That, in her view, is the only way to eliminate structural inequalities in the media and society.