Yucatán Woman Faces Death Threats After Securing Conviction in Vicarious Violence Case

Mérida, Yucatán — A Yucatán woman who successfully prosecuted her ex-partner for vicarious violence now faces escalating death threats and online harassment campaigns that she says are funded by the imprisoned man.

Ericka Contreras reported receiving direct threats including “kill that damn bitch” and “burn her alive” following the 2025 conviction of Mauricio “N,” who was sentenced to preventive prison for vicarious violence and forced disappearance after abducting their daughter Lucía.

Contreras has filed two formal complaints with the Yucatán State Prosecutor’s Office — case 1734/2025 in June 2025 and case 243/2026 this year — but says authorities have made no progress in investigating the threats.

“Today I face an escalation of digital violence that has been growing in scope, that is being funded. My daughter’s father is in preventive prison,” Contreras said at a press conference. “Confidential documents have been disseminated including psychological transcripts of my daughter, fragments of judicial rulings — this is not public information, it’s legally protected content. What’s happening is a campaign against me because I decided to report my aggressor and recover my daughter.”

She emphasized that her fear extends beyond the digital realm. “I’ve had to read messages calling for me to be killed — ‘burn her,’ ‘blow her head off.’ Today I demand protection and action from authorities. If something happens to me, it won’t be an isolated incident, it will be the consequence of violence that was already reported and warned about,” Contreras stated.

Her lawyer, Moisés Velázquez, explained that vicarious violence is gender-based and that only women can be victims under Mexican law. He criticized the lack of gender perspective among judges and prosecutors, which he said allows men to use institutions to commit this crime.

“Institutions are being used by men to commit vicarious violence. Based on this, when there was shared custody, Mauricio didn’t return the girl and filed a generic complaint to justify the abduction, and he himself obstructed the investigation,” Velázquez detailed.

The digital and media harassment against Contreras originates primarily from Facebook accounts including La Vida Bella, Red Igualitaria MX, and La Dulce Vida Veracruz, among others. The campaign also involves members of the incel community and public figures like nationally-known influencer “Al3x Flores,” who presents himself as a men’s rights activist.

Gabriela Pérez from the Center for Integral Justice for All supported the lawyer’s statements, noting that false complaints that aren’t investigated with a gender perspective by the State Prosecutor’s Office effectively legalize child abductions — that is, vicarious violence.