PBI-Mexico works with the Observatory of Social and Gender Violence of Aguascalientes to strengthen their security strategies

Published by Brent Patterson on April 17, 2024

PBI-Mexico has posted: “From @PBI_Mexico we recognize the work of the Social and Gender Violence Observatory of Aguascalientes [OVSG AGS]  @FeministAgs in favor of the #DDHH [human rights] of all people and we appreciate your trust to be able to talk and strengthen your security strategies.”

This followed a tweet from the Observatory that says: “We thank Peace Brigades International Mexico @PBI_Mexico for their support to strengthen our security strategies. We know that human rights and the fight for dignity are worked on, agreed upon and lived collectively. April 2024. #Silence Doesn’t Protect Us”

On April 16, the Observatory also tweeted: “#Security Alert. We issue this security alert following some telephone calls that have been made to the Observatory’s telephone number, which violate the security of the members of our organization. #Silence Doesn’t Protect Us.”

We further note that in January 2023, Milenio reported: “Defender Mariana Ávila Montejano [the president of the Observatory of Social and Gender Violence of Aguascalientes] received a call through which she was threatened with death and rape for which the National Citizen Observatory of Femicide (OCNF) expresses concern.”

That article adds: “Mariana has worked for 17 years in the defense of human rights; In addition, she accompanies relatives of disappeared persons in the central-western area of the country, and is a member of the National Citizen Observatory on Femicide.”

On November 25, 2023, in the context of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Ávila Montejano pointed out that 13 femicides have been registered in Aguascalientes.

That same month, El Sol del Centro reported: “The Observatory of Social and Gender Violence of Aguascalientes expressed its concern about the performance of the Attorney General of the State, recalling the emphasis they have made throughout the administration of Jesús Figueroa Ortega regarding the urgency of dialogue with the families and the correct implementation of the investigation protocols, which in its words, they still don’t happen.”

And on February 15, 2024, the Observatory “demanded, on legal grounds, the removal of the state’s Attorney General, Jesús Figueroa Ortega [because he] has been a protagonist in giving statements in the processes of victims of femicide, homicide and other violence, for example on the violent death of Cynthia Natali on January 24, 2023, the femicide of Nidia on November 6, 2023, and the violent death of Ociel Baena and Dorian Daniel during the same year; these processes have remained inconclusive and unpunished due to the omissions of the Prosecutor’s Office.”

A key objective of the Observatory of Social and Gender Violence of Aguascalientes is to “contribute to the promotion and protection of women’s human rights.” Its website also notes: “The Observatory accompanies the cases of disappeared persons in the State and victims of femicide and their families, in the struggle for access to truth, justice, memory, reparation and non-repetition.”

On femicide, they note: “Femicide is the direct visible part of the violence generated against girls and women, it is the result of systematic violence and disregard for respect for their human rights. Insufficient and inadequate attention from institutions, in addition to being unacceptable, aggravates the problem and fosters it.”

Aguascalientes is a city situated about 500 kilometres north-west of Mexico City. The city is in a state with the same name. The state has a population of about 1.4 million people, most of whom live in the city.

We continue to follow the work of the Gender Violence Observatory.