JINHA

NEWS CENTER - The Mexican government has declared a state of Gender Violence Alert in response to violence against women.

Women's groups first called for a state of gender alert in the State of Mexico (near Mexico City) in 2010, according to women's news agency Cimacnoticias. Now, for the first time, the Gender Violence Alert has been issued in eleven municipalities in the state, where only 32.7% of crimes against women went to trial between 2011 and 2014.

The Secretariate of the Interior issued the call, which requires municipalities to take a range of protocols to secure the safety and right to life of women. Efforts to make public space safer include hanging declarations of the state of alert; increased patrols; increased street lighting; security cameras in streets and on public transit; and emergency posts in the streets. The government will be required to issue training and handbooks on gender violence to public employees, gather consistent statistics on violence against women and form a special unit to investigate gender violence.

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