Gender-based violence in Mexico: A Critical and Causal Inference approach

Abstract/nGender-based violence in Mexico: A Critical and Causal Inference approach/nby/nAlma Lilia Juárez Armenta/nDoctor of Public Health/nDesignated Emphasis in Women, Gender, and Sexuality/nUniversity of California, Berkeley/nProfessor Ndola Prata, Co-chair/nProfessor Paola Bacchetta, Co-chair/nEvery day, the situation for women in Mexico deteriorates further, marked by escalating levels of violence, pervasive insecurity, and deeply ingrained sexism. According to data from the Mexican Institute of Statistics and Geography (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía, INEGI), as of 2016, a disconcerting 59.4% of women in the country reported experiencing attacks in their most recent relationships, encompassing marriage. Disturbingly, 15.7% faced sexual assault at the hands of their partners or spouses, with a staggering 64% of these cases involving severe violence. The predominant forms of aggression manifest as psychological abuse, affecting 40.1% of women who, during their last relationships, endured insults, threats, or humiliation at least once. Psychological aggression emerges as a prevalent form of abuse in dating relationships, particularly in societies entwined with patriarchal beliefs. The second most prevalent types of aggression involve economic control, physical abuse, and sexual abuse, as outlined by statistics from the National Day Against Gender Violence in Mexico provided by INEGI (2018)./nIn Mexico, the Federal Penal Code (Art, 325) defines femicide as the deliberate killing of a woman for gender-related reasons, restricted to circumstances involving sexual or intimate partner violence. Specifically, femicide is established if the victim exhibits signs of sexual violence, degrading lesions or mutilations, necrophilia, a history of violence within the family, workplace, or school between the victim and perpetrator, or if the victim and perpetrator shared a romantic relationship marked by threats, isolation, or the public exposure of the victim's body./nHowever, the current definition is arguably limiting, necessitating a challenge and reconsideration to comprehensively grasp the extent of the problem in Mexico, as well as in many other countries. Additionally, incorporating the intersecting dynamics of other oppressive structures, such as coloniality and racist capitalism, is crucial to elucidate the complexity of this phenomenon and refine the definition for an accurate quantitative assessment. A hindrance to understanding the magnitude of these occurrences is the insufficient information available in Mexico regarding the number of femicides, stemming from the problematic definition of femicide itself./nMoreover, cultural factors, particularly the deeply entrenched notion of machismo in Mexican society, have traditionally been cited as the primary explanation for these killings. However, attributing these deaths solely to cultural aspects restricts a broader analysis of femicides, confining them to the realm of private, domestic violence. Recognizing the influence of violence at the neighborhood level opens avenues for targeted interventions at that level and a more comprehensive comprehension of this structural phenomenon./nAlthough research on the impact of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is not novel, there exists a scarcity of quantitative assessments regarding the health impact on women exposed to violence throughout their lives. Additionally, empirical evidence linking municipality-level violence to occurrences within households, specifically domestic femicides, is limited. Given these challenges, the proposed research aims to analyze three distinct stages of gender-based violence in Mexico: the exposure and embodiment of stress at the neighborhood level, municipality-level male homicide rates and their impact on domestic femicides, and the definition of femicide itself./nTo accomplish this, the research will explore various aspects of GBV in Mexico. The initial phase will scrutinize broader definitions of femicide through an intersectional and anti-racial capitalism lens, seeking explanations beyond cultural arguments for a more nuanced operationalization of femicide counts. The second phase will offer evidence of the effects of GBV exposure at the neighborhood level, utilizing a subclinical biomarker, hair cortisol, as a proxy for chronic stress, possibly induced by violence exposure. This part of the study will delineate the interplay of different levels of influence on health, from community-level factors to individual-level considerations. Finally, the third phase will employ Causal Inference to enhance understanding of the influence of neighborhood violence, operationalized by the male homicide rate, on the rate of domestic femicides at the municipality level.

Advisor: Prata, Ndola
Bacchetta, Paola