In observation of its fourteenth anniversary the social organization Melel Xojobal A.C. organized the forum “Violence against children and adolescents in Mexico: Education, society, and media.”
During the event held in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, Nashieli Ramírez from the program Infancy in Movement presented a panorama of violence from infancy to adolescence in Mexico. She presented alarming statistics regarding the so-called “war on organized crime” and the violence that as a consequence has gripped the country. “The impact that this has had on infancy and adolescence has resulted in 40000 orphaned children, more than 30000 children kidnapped by organized crime, and finally 34 million Mexican children and adolescents who every day watch the news and participated in games that naturalize violence.”
For her part, Lourdes Almada from the Network of the Rights of Infancy in Ciudad Juárez spoke to the impact that the “war on organized crime” has had on infancy and adolescence in that city. Almada observed that between 2008 and 2010 were killed close to 7000 people, of which more than 400 were minors of age; it is estimated that 13000 children have been made orphans.
In the third intervention, Patricia Carmona from Mexican Agency of News for the Rights of Infancy (AMNDI) presented data from her editorial analysis of media published in the country regarding the rights of children and adolescents that was published in alliance with the program Infancy and Movement.
The types of violence most reported in the state daily newspapers were domestic violence in the first place; violence in the community and school in second and third place; violence perpetrated by organized crime in fourth place; and sexual violence and commercial sexual exploitation in last place.
To close the event Rosa Poiré Castañeda, from the organization Save the Children Mexico, spoke on the challenges of building spaces free of violence with children and adolescents.
For more information (in Spanish):
Violence against children and adolescents in Mexico (Cencos, 3 February 2011)
For more information from SIPAZ (in English):
Chiapas: Melel Xojobal debuts the book “Infancy Matters in Mexico 2007” (5 February 2008)