Yucatán Enacts 70-Year Maximum Sentence for Femicide and Reforms Self-Defense Laws

Mérida, Yucatán — Yucatán now imposes up to 70 years in prison for femicide, the highest penalty in Mexico, under a sweeping legal reform that also fundamentally changes how courts must analyze violence against women and self-defense cases.

The changes, enacted through Decree 163/2026, raise the maximum sentence from 65 to 70 years, surpassing the federal standard of 60 years. The law toughens penalties for both basic and aggravated cases, particularly when the perpetrator has a familial, trust-based, employment, or romantic relationship with the victim, or when the victim is a minor.

New aggravating factors include abuse of public office, membership in security forces, use of public or tourist transportation to commit the crime, sexual exploitation, and administering substances to nullify the victim’s will.

The reform mandates that femicide no longer be treated as an isolated incident but as part of a structural pattern of violence. In a country where gender-based violence remains a historical state debt and women are killed daily for gender-related reasons, Yucatán has opted to strengthen its legal framework and redefine judicial analysis criteria.

The most profound change extends beyond prison terms. The reform requires courts to judge cases where women repel attacks with a gender perspective. Self-defense is now presumed when there is real, current, or imminent danger from physical or sexual aggression or attempted femicide. The law eliminates the “excessive defense” concept when fear, terror, or physical inequality influences the victim’s reaction.

This means the system must recognize that a woman acting to save her life does not do so under conditions of balance or full rationality. The provision even opens the door to reviewing previous sentences against women who may have acted in self-defense.

Parallel changes redefine sexual abuse to include non-consensual touching, groping, sexual gestures, or simulated acts, establishing that silence or lack of resistance does not constitute consent. In multiple scenarios, the State Prosecutor’s Office can now pursue charges without a direct complaint, particularly when power dynamics or vulnerability exist.

The context explains the reform. In 2025, Yucatán opened 10 femicide investigations and 113 sexual abuse cases. While these numbers don’t place the state among Mexico’s most violent, they reflect a persistent problem that activists and experts have long criticized as inadequately addressed by previous legal frameworks.

Prosecutors and judges must now apply these new rules. The real impact won’t be measured on paper but in courtrooms, sentences, and how the system responds when a woman, cornered by violence, decides to defend herself to stay alive.