The Civic Association for Communication and Information for Women (CIMAC in Spanish) released a report yesterday on violence against female journalists in Mexico. The document details the types of offenders, forms of violence, age and marital status of almost 100 journalists who have been attacked or intimidated in the last decade.
The report was presented on Thursday, Aug. 15 in the city of Oaxaca by journalists Sanjuana Martínez and Lydia Cacho, who have been victims of violence because of their investigations.
The report noted that the state of Oaxaca, in southern Mexico, ranks first in aggressions with 20 registered attacks against women journalists. Most of the attacks are from public officials and in many cases come in the form of lawsuits and legal harassment, it added.
However, the acts of intimidation also included threats against their children, smear campaigns, physical and psychological aggressions, and sexual harassment. For the most part, the aggressions were a result of the journalists' investigations on corruption.
The report lists a total of 94 unpunished attacks against female journalists in Mexico, including 10 murders and one forced disappearance that occurred between 2002 and 2011.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
