Bordertown and Ciudad Juarez's murders

Bordertown (2006) is an eye-opener when it comes to violence towards women and their rights in Mexico City. It tells the story of "las mujeres de Juarez" (the women from Juarez) whom have been facing "femicide" since 1993 without any actions being taken. Ciudad Juarez is well known for its government "inaction in preventing violence against females and bringing perpetrators to justice" and therefor women bodies keep piling up throughout the years. In 2011, Chihuahua's Attorney General, Carlos Manuel Salas, announced during a briefing in August 2011 that 222 women had been killed in Chihuahua since January of that year. Of these 222 murders, 130 of them occurred in Ciudad Juarez. In total, more than 300 women were murdered in Mexico in 2011 (Ortega Lozano, Marisela, 2011."130 women killed in Juárez this year; Chihuahua AG says fight for women's rights painful and slow". El Paso Times. Retrieved May 25 2012). The predominance of Mexico as a "machista" society has created an environment filled with misogynous  attitudes that jeopardize the sake of thousands of women and consent violence against them.According to Amnesty International, "In [2009], the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled on the “cotton field” (Campo Algodonero) case that Mexico was guilty of discrimination and of failing to protect three young women murdered in 2001 in Ciudad Juárez or to ensure an effective investigation into their abduction and murder (Spiegel Online. "'Bordertown' Booed at Berlinale," February 16, 2007)". The Court ordered Mexico to conduct a new investigation of the murders, create a national memorial for the victims, pay reparations to the families of the victims, and to improve measures which prevent and adequately investigate the murder of females.Back in 2002, a social movement called "Ni una mas" (Not One More) was created to bring support to the victims of violence and their families. However, the government still remains reluctant to admit that this is an issue and refuses to take actions upon it."Justicia!" (Justice!) is heard in every corner of Ciudad Juarez. The murder of women continues and the fear of being assaulted is a constant, a curse attained at the mere moment of birth!

Jessie H.