Violence Against Women Shakes Mexico: Influencer Murdered During Live Broadcast
Tragedy Unfolds on Social Media
The murder of Valeria Márquez, a 23-year-old beauty influencer, has ignited outrage in Mexico, a nation grappling with persistent violence against women. Márquez was engaging with her TikTok followers in a live broadcast from her beauty hall in Zapopan when a fatal encounter occurred.
The sequence of events leading to her death unfolded rapidly. A person arrived at her door with a package. Its a little pig!
Márquez exclaimed, unwrapping a teddy animal while adjusting her hair. Moments later, she was dead, collapsing in her chair as blood pooled on the desk. The live broadcast continued until someone picked up her phone, briefly revealing their face to viewers.
Femicide Investigation Launched
The Attorney General of Jalisco is investigating Márquez’s death as a possible femicide-the murder of a woman or girl becuase of her gender. According to authorities, Márquez was shot by a male intruder in her hall.
A Nation Grapples with Violence
Márquez’s death, given her significant social media presence with over 100,000 Instagram followers, has amplified concerns about the high levels of homicides and violence against women in Mexico.
Adding to the alarm, just days before Márquez’s murder, a mayoral candidate in Veracruz was also shot dead during a live broadcast, along with three other individuals.
The Scope of Femicide in Mexico
While not all homicides involving women are classified as femicides, a significant number are. In 2020, Amnesty International reported that a quarter of women’s murders in mexico were investigated as femicides.
Mexican government figures indicate that there were 847 reported cases of femicide nationwide last year. In the first three months of this year alone, there were 162 reported cases.
Insufficient Response and Systemic Challenges
Rights groups contend that Mexico’s response to homicides, in general, is severely inadequate, with vrey few investigations leading to prosecutions.
In 2022,around 4,000 women were killed in Mexico,which is equivalent to 12 % of all the homicides of that year. And the rate of cases that lead to a verdict is around 67 %.
Juanita Goebertus, director for the Americas of Human Rights Watch
Goebertus emphasized that the primary challenge is enhancing the authorities’ capacity to investigate and protect witnesses and victims.
Seeking Further Information
CNN has reached out to the Office of the Attorney General for additional details regarding the ongoing investigation.
