Mexico’s President Harassed: How Safe Are Women?

The assault on Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has reignited Mexico’s ongoing debate about women’s safety and gender-based violence.

During a public appearance, a man touched the president without consent, an act that has now prompted her to press charges and launch a review of sexual harassment laws across the country.

Mexico, despite having one of the highest femicide rates in Latin America, still does not criminalize sexual harassment in all of its 32 federal entities — a gap Sheinbaum says must be urgently addressed.

According to official data, nearly 70% of Mexican women have experienced some form of violence, and hundreds are killed every year because of their gender. Activists and feminist groups say the president’s experience reflects what millions of women endure daily, often without justice.

While the Secretariat of Women has condemned the act as a crime and urged cultural change, Sheinbaum insists her case should drive national reform — not political division.