The Invisible Burden of Violence Against Girls and Young Women in Mexico: 1990 to 2015

Abstract

The increasing burden of interpersonal violence in women in Mexico is a neglected social and health problem that competes with other leading causes of premature death, disability, and health losses in young women. In this article, we focus on revealing the burden of violence in girls and young women and its implications for public policy. This study presents the subnational analysis of Mexico from the Global Burden of Disease study (1990-2015). The global study harmonized information of 195 countries and 79 risk factors. The study analyzed the deaths, years of life lost to premature death (YLL), years lived with disability (YLD), and the healthy years of life lost or disability-adjusted life year (DALY) related to violence. Nationwide, violence in young women accounts for 7% of all deaths in the 10 to 29 years age group and arises as the second most important cause of death in all age groups, except 10 to 14 years old, where it stands in the seventh position from 1990 to 2015. The health losses and social impact related to violence in young women demands firm actions by the government and society. It is urgent for health institutions to focus on the health of girls and young women because gender inequities have an enormous effect on their lives. Girls and women are nearly universally less powerful, less privileged, and have fewer opportunities than men.

Association between dating violence and personality type in Mexican university students

“…Although the presence of dating violence might be modified depending on the instrument which it is measured with, the results found out are below the national (Ávila-Burgos et al, 2014) and international prevalence (Boladale et al, 2015;WHO, 2017), considering that less than 2% reported suffering from severe dating violence. In contrast to what was reported by Romero et al, there was not a high rate of severe violence in this study, probably due to the characteristics of the population studied, since populations owning a higher education and sociocultural level have a protection factor against this type of violence (Gupta et al, 2018;Romero Mendoza et al, 2018). Moreover, although the female gender is considered as a vulnerability factor to suffer violence, the population studied does not come from marginal or conflict areas, fact assumed due to their university affiliation and income level, which could potentially expose this gender to dating violence (Espinoza, Hokoda, Ulloa, Ulibarri, & Castaneda, 2012;Rivera-Rivera et al, 2007;Romero Mendoza et al, 2018).…”

“…According to the latest national survey on violence against women, between 2003 and 2006 the prevalence of dating violence increased by 17%; this means that in 2006 one in three women suffered this type of violence, compared to one in five in 2003 (Ávila-Burgos et al, 2014). Recent studies show that, between 1990 and 2015, violence against women in Mexico remained within the main causes of death for the age group of 20 to 24 years, where the State of Mexico is one of the five states of the country with the highest rate of violence against this vulnerable group (Romero Mendoza et al, 2018).…”

“…Interpersonal relationships during adolescence include parent-child and teacher-student relationships, however during this period, adolescents spend more time with their peers and such relationships become more important and influential for this age group (Papalia, Feldman, & Martorell, 2015). At this stage, despite being considered a period of low mortality and good health, it is also a period of physical, social, and emotional changes which exposed women to: sexual activity, substance abuse, unemployment, undesired pregnancies, sexual abuse, depression, violence, young marriage, abortions, traffic accidents, and difficulties of educational achievements (Romero Mendoza et al, 2018). In addition, the beginning of university life and the transition from high school to the university includes greater challenges to the life of a young adult (Shirzad, 2016).…”

Polygyny and Intimate Partner Violence in Mozambique

“…Approximately 30% of women aged 15 and older around the world have experienced physical and/or sexual IPV in their lifetime (Devries et al, 2013). IPV is associated with worsening mental and physical well-being (e.g., Beydoun, Beydoun, Kaufman, Lo, & Zonderman, 2012; Dillon, Hussain, Loxton, & Rahman, 2013) as well as higher risks of death (Romero Mendoza et al, 2018). Polygyny, a marital structure common in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in its rural parts, is strongly associated with heightened rates of IPV (Amo-Adjei & Tuoyire, 2016; Uthman, Lawoko, & Moradi, 2010), and understanding the complexities of polygynous unions and their role in the production and perpetuation of IPV is critical to reducing it.…”

Acción colectiva en contra de la violencia hacia las mujeres, un análisis de redes bayesianas

“…Se estima que en México entre 9 y 10 mujeres son asesinadas todos los días, ya para el 2015 se había emitido alerta de género por el número de asesinados en el Estado de México (Madrid, 2019) y en el 2019 ocurrió la misma situación en la Ciudad de México (Gobierno de la Ciudad de México, 2019), siendo así el feminicidio la expresión más grave de la violencia hacia las mujeres en México (Lagarde, 2011). Aunado a esto, Romero Mendoza et al (2021) han reportado que la violencia hacia las mujeres en México tiene un impacto social y también general en la salud de las mujeres que la sufren. Pedraza (2019) considera que la violencia hacia las mujeres en México es tan generalizarla que debe ser considerado una emergencia nacional, y por en ende se deben implementar acciones desde diferentes frentes para buscar erradicarla.…”