Framing Violence: Activists Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Contemporary Mexico

Abstract

This thesis examines the problem of violence against women in Mexico. It attempts to answer the question how local activists engage with violence against women against the background of the current security crisis. It argues that activists use the strategy of framing to bring issues to the public agenda. In case of violence against women activists frame the issue as a human rights violation. This provides activists access to a global human rights network and the language of rights to address the issue and put pressure on the government to properly investigate crimes against women. Activists are confronted with many obstacles in their work. They encounter uncooperative authorities that trivialize the problem of violence against women and a legal system with many flaws. Both contribute to a climate of impunity and permissibility regarding cases of violence against women. The current security crisis has worsened this problem as authorities are caught in the discourse of the ‘war on drugs’ and more women have become victims of violence over the past years.