Quintana Roo Feminists Demand Justice Amid Violence

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Feminist collectives in Quintana Roo have once again raised their voices to demand justice and investigations with a gender perspective, following a series of violent acts against girls and women that have occurred in recent days.

From the Siempre Unidas association, they reported that in Quintana Roo, within a span of 10 days, a nine-year-old girl was abused, a girl survived an attempted infant femicide, four women were murdered, and a pregnant woman "committed suicide," events that have raised red flags in the destination.

"These are demands we have always been making, but it never hurts to repeat them, over and over again, until we hope that one day they are fulfilled… what we see as most urgent to resolve is the budget, because all governments always give us the same excuse: there is not enough money," stated Tania Ramírez, a member of Siempre Unidas. She listed the demands: Sufficient budgets, she said, are necessary and must be earmarked with a gender perspective to ensure resources for protecting women, girls, and boys; sufficient and trained personnel, with dignified salaries, supervision, and clear controls so they can fulfill their duties; and protection orders that truly work, not just through virtual applications, but with real compliance and constant follow-up.

Furthermore, effective care for children is required, and the DIF (Integral Family Development system) must fulfill its obligation to protect them; and an immediate response from the police and 911, with clear procedures and personnel trained in gender perspective.

"Without a budget, there is not enough personnel, so there are not enough forensic doctors, very specific things that are needed within the specialized attorney generals' offices and justice centers. Also, unfortunately we have detected quite a few irregularities within the justice centers, where victims are asked for money to move files, this we have already reported to the authorities because they do have to conduct an investigation and a cleanup because there is corruption within these attorney generals' offices," she added.

The state, she insisted, cannot continue abandoning those who need it most, hence these demands for institutions without corruption, with trained and sufficient personnel, and processes that truly guarantee truth and justice. For this, she affirmed, honesty filters are required and for officials to actually do their jobs, because that is what they are paid for.

Quintana Roo, she recounted, has had a gender alert since 2017, and now there are female officials who seem to want to remove it, to lift it, but for that to happen, gender-based violence should decrease, and the reality is different because it continues to increase.

The authorities, she exhorted, must do more than put up billboards that say "I believe you," if when reporting there is no follow-up on cases, nor effective protection for victims.

"Yes, definitely, it is a call to all three levels of government. We, on countless occasions, have done it and well, we will continue to do it and we will continue to demand it, until it becomes a reality in the state," she concluded.