Mexico, Paris, 25 November 2024. Disappearances in general disregard. In 2023, the FIDH and partner organisations in Mexico, IDHEAS and EMAF, published a report documenting the increase in gender-based violence, and specifically the cases of disappearances of women and girls in the State of Guerrero. A year later, a new report continues this analysis focusing on the State of Mexico, a crossroads of organised crime and human trafficking networks.

The State of Mexico presents alarming figures in terms of disappearances of women and girls. In 2019, it was already the entity with the highest number of disappearances in the country, with 1,790 officially registered cases. Since then, the situation has continued to worsen. Between January 2018 and September 2024, 11,566 women and girls disappeared, representing almost 50% of the disappearances registered in the region.

Although this state is also recognized as a place of origin, transit and destination of human trafficking, especially for the purpose of sexual exploitation, the judicial and political authorities have not yet recognised this fact, particularly the link between this crime and the disappearances of women and girls in the region. This omission prevents an adequate institutional response. The consequences are dramatic, with an increase in cases and access to justice almost impossible for families.

Corruption and patriarchy: the basis of judicial apathy in Mexico.

“The disappearances of women and girls linked to trafficking are not an isolated problem. These horrors are the product of a violent, machista and sexist patriarchal culture. Violence against women is normalised. Prejudice and discrimination trivialize human trafficking. Disregard for the dignity of women victims and their suffering is the constant response of the authorities“, stated Juan Carlos Gutiérrez, Legal Director of IDHEAS.

In the State of Mexico, as in the rest of the country, this phenomenon is rooted in structural factors such as patriarchal culture, as well as the presence of organised criminal networks, which thrive in contexts of extreme poverty. Criminal groups often act with the support of local communities, due to the services and benefits, particularly economic, they provide, as well as the pervasive fear of retaliation against the population.

The absence of an adequate investigation, justice and reparations, as well as the complicity and participation of state agents in these crimes, creates an institutional framework that favors the perpetuation of these violations. At the national level, only between 2% and 6% of cases of disappearances of persons were prosecuted, in 2021, and only 36 sentences had been issued in cases of disappearances of persons in that same year.

Reporting the disappearance of a victim does not prevent the phenomenon from continuing. On the contrary, they often find ways to evade reporting and endanger families seeking justice. The report highlights the case of a young woman who disappeared after being hired to work in a restaurant. Despite alerts from her family, the authorities failed to act. Desperate, the family members had to do their own investigations. They identified the perpetrators, and to obtain information, the victim’s brother had to collaborate with the criminal network, for which he was arrested and charged with organised crime.

“In a corrupt system, families are the only ones seeking the truth“, says Jimena Reyes, Director of FIDH’s Americas Office.

The main obstacles to access justice for victims of trafficking in women and girls are multiple and deeply rooted in the judicial system. In particular, the lack of clarity about competencies within the Prosecutor’s Office and administrations, the lack of a holistic approach to investigations and the fragmentation of procedures, make it difficult to identify and address trafficking-related disappearances. These systemic deficiencies, together with the lack of gender-sensitive training of authorities and insufficient coordination between different agencies, hinder not only the recognition of victims, but also their access to support and protection services.

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