“The main type of violence exercised in the state of Yucatán is Psychological violence”, said Dr. María Emilia Montejano Hilton, Research Professor at UADY’s Law School.
She made this statement during the conference “Human Rights and Violence against Women” (“Derechos Humanos y Violencia contra la Mujer”) that was offered in the auditorium “Victor Manuel Cervera Pacheco” of the Superior Court of Justice, in Mérida Yucatán one monh ago.
This was stated based on data from the National Data and Information Bank on Cases of Violence Against Women (Banco Nacional de Datos e Información Sobre Casos de Violencia Contra la Mujeres: BANAVIM), which also points out that in 2019 emotional violence is the main problem in the whole country. Psychological violence is what prevails in most states (domestic violence, gender violence, bullying, etc.), but the most serious thing is that violence occurs at home.
Dr. Montejano also mentioned that there are international laws that seek to guarantee the right of all people, such as the American Convention on Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), as well as the Inter-American Convention for prevention, punishment and eradication of violence against women known as the Belem do Pará Convention.
911 calls related to violence against women
During the first three months of 2019 there were 721 calls to the 911 emergency number in Yucatan, and 48 percent of these, were related to violence against women.
Nationally, the total number of 911 calls related to violence against women in the first quarter of 2019 was 42,896 (in 2018, 40,805 calls were registered in the same period of time).
Regarding conjugal partner violence in Yucatán, which is the aggression inflicted by the spouse that includes physical, sexual or emotional abuse, as well as controlling behaviors by a sentimental partner, 3,005 calls were registered from January to March 2019, while only 2,416 were registered during the same period of time in 2018.
Dr. María Emilia Montejano Hilton, Research Professor at UADY’s Law School, speaking at the “Human Rights and Violence against Women” conference.
Montejano Hilton said that femicide is not a common practice in Yucatan, in comparison with the rest of the country. As a matter of fact, more men than women die in violent acts in the state, however, the numbers indicate that when it comes to sexual violence, most of the victims are women.
In that sense, she explained that society and government should analyze where to start, and carry out dissemination campaigns to avoid all types of violence. “If we avoid the widespread of violence, we will be able to reduce it in other environments,” Dr. Montejano added.
Finally, she stressed that education is the main factor in the prevention of domestic violence.
The Yucatan Times Newsroom
