Despite women-only cars, Mexico City's metro still has a gender violence crisis

Mexico has a serious problem of gender violence. There is an average of 10 femicides, homicides committed on females and feminine people, a day and more than 40% of Mexican women have suffered a situation of violence before the age of 15, either psychologically, sexually or physically, according to official statistics.

The government has taken some measures to address the problem, but rights advocates say they have fallen short and major reform is needed to ensure women's safety.

In the public metro system of Mexico City, nine out of 10 women say they have been a victim of sexual harassment even though, in 2002, the city government implemented “Let's Travel Safely." The program allocates three of the nine subway cars for only women and children up to 12 years old.

The program's success has been very limited: One 2021 study found harassment toward women only dropped by 2.9%. Sexual harassment continues to pose a serious threat to riders, with an average of 300 cases reported per year in the metro. But even then, the numbers are inaccurate, since 80% of metro riders do not know how to report sexual harassment in public transportation, according to the Inter-American Development Bank. The lack of knowledge about the reporting process casts a shadow on the full scope of the issue.

In the micro-universe that is the Mexico City Metro, upwards of 6 million people, 53% of whom are women, travel daily while violence echoes. At the root of the problem — impunity. Mexico is a country where an estimated 99% of crimes go unpunished.

In the last 20 years, amid the violence, the women's movement has made progress toward equality throughout the country. This June, there is hope that solving gender-based violence will be a priority for the next president, who for the first time in the country's history will be a woman.

In a race between Claudia Sheinbaum, an environmental scientist and a former mayor of Mexico City, and Xóchitl Gálvez, an Indigenous, pro-business tech entrepreneur, Sheinbaum was overwhelmingly elected Mexico's first female president. Many women are hopeful that she will add momentum to the women's rights movement.

Still, there is a prevailing fear within the feminist movement in Mexico that both candidates' proposals, like the city’s women-only metro cars, may only cover up the cancer and not truly diminish the threat against women in Mexico.

Ana María Islas is a reporter based in Mexico City. Her reporting focuses on women’s rights and social movements all over the Americas.

Sara Messinger is a documentary photographer based in New York City. See more of Sara's work on her website or follow her on Instagram: @sara.messinger.

Grace Widyatmadja photo edited.

Zach Thompson and Alex Leff copy edited this story.