Justice without discrimination: intersectional and grassroots perspectives on sexual violence in Mexico

From 25 to 28 August, we held the National Meeting Justice without discrimination: intersectional and grassroots perspectives on sexual violence in Mexico City, co-organized with seven partners from different states across the country: Colectiva Ciudad y Género, EnIgualdad A. C., Lúminas Centro de Derechos Humanos A. C., Mujer Ideas Desarrollo e Investigación (MIDI), the Office for the Defence of Children’s Rights (ODI), RAÍCES Análisis de Género para el Desarrollo, and the Network of Indigenous Women Lawyers (RAI).

The gathering brought together 40 activists and defenders of women’s, children’s and Indigenous peoples’ rights, representing 25 civil society organisations, collectives and networks. It was shaped by a question that cuts across all of their work: what does advancing towards justice without discrimination for survivors of sexual violence mean in practice?

From standards to justice without discrimination

The starting point was to recognise a tension at the heart of access to justice in Mexico: the country has a broad legal framework for protection and has assumed significant international obligations, yet deep gaps remain between these standards and the lived experiences of those seeking justice. The lack of harmonisation of criminal legislation across states is compounded by territorial inequalities and structural forms of discrimination that have a particularly severe impact on Indigenous and Afro-descendant women, girls and adolescents, women and girls with disabilities, those living in rural areas, and other historically discriminated groups.

One of the key discussions at the meeting therefore focused on what it truly means to speak of justice without discrimination. In a panel featuring the National Network of Indigenous Women Lawyers (RAI) and the Network of Shelters for Indigenous and Afro-Mexican Women (CAMIA), anti-racist and intercultural perspectives were used to challenge one-size-fits-all responses to sexual violence. Drawing on the experiences and realities of Indigenous women, the discussion highlighted the need to recognise how racism, ethnic discrimination, gender and other inequalities intersect and can create specific barriers to accessing justice. From this perspective, addressing sexual violence through an anti-racist and intercultural lens means not only ensuring that rights are recognised, but also transforming institutional practices so that they respond to the diversity of women’s contexts, knowledge and experiences.

In working groups, participants also mapped the pathways that girls, adolescents and women survivors navigate when seeking access to justice, identifying barriers through an intersectional lens. In a country with more than 30 different criminal codes and deep territorial inequalities, guaranteeing the same rights requires recognising that barriers, available resources and relationships with institutions are not the same everywhere.

Changing the question: from the use of force to consent

One of the central themes of the meeting was the standard of consent. For decades, many laws on sexual violence have focused on questions such as: Was physical violence used? Did the victim resist? Did they scream? Were there injuries? International standards call for a shift in perspective and for a different question to be asked: was there free and voluntary consent?

This shift is fundamental because it recognises that sexual violence does not always involve the visible use of force. It can occur in contexts shaped by intimidation, abuse of power, dependency, coercion, vulnerability or other circumstances that make it impossible for a person to freely express their will.

However, this standard is still far from being incorporated consistently across Mexican legislation. Equality Now’s analysis, From the paradigm of force to that of consent: towards comprehensive reform of sexual offences in Mexico, shows that 32 of the country’s 33 criminal codes continue to define rape on the basis of the use of physical, moral or psychological violence. Oaxaca is currently the only state to have removed this requirement and adopted a consent-based standard.

In addition, the offence of estupro remains in force in 25 state criminal codes. This provision classifies certain sexual acts against adolescents as a less serious offence where their consent is considered invalid because of circumstances such as deception, seduction or the exploitation of an unequal power relationship. This can result in lower penalties and weaker protection against sexual violence.

At the same time, retaining ambiguous and moralising concepts such as “seduction” or “deception” shifts attention away from the central question: whether free and voluntary consent was present, while also taking into account power imbalances, coercion and other circumstances that may prevent an adolescent from freely exercising their sexual autonomy. State congresses should therefore repeal the offence of estupro and harmonise criminal legislation on sexual violence in line with a model based on the absence of consent, ensuring comprehensive protection for adolescents.

Reform is also contested in the public conversation

We also shared the experience of advocacy and communications around Brisa’s Law in Bolivia, together with human rights lawyer Mónica Bayá, Technical Secretary of the Human Rights Community and our partner in implementing the campaign in Bolivia.

The process provided an opportunity to examine how a reform based on the consent standard faced strong opposition and disinformation campaigns that promoted narratives about “false allegations”, supposed threats to men, and the erosion of procedural safeguards. Together with Mónica Bayá, we reflected on the importance of advancing a public conversation that centres survivors’ rights and helps build understanding of what consent-based legislation actually means.

A collective path towards justice without discrimination

The meeting leaves us with much more than new learning: renewed alliances, new tools and a collective roadmap for continuing to transform the conditions that enable and perpetuate sexual violence. We leave with the conviction that, in the face of the challenges ahead, organising, supporting one another and building networks across different territories are themselves ways of advancing justice and building collective power.

The agenda we agreed combines legislative advocacy, work with community authorities and justice system actors, public advocacy and strategic litigation, recognising that the changes we need require action on multiple fronts and must be rooted in the realities of each territory.

We leave with a shared commitment to continue opening pathways towards justice without discrimination, free from violence and genuinely accessible to all.