Number active women in criminal groups Mexican has increased significantly in recent years. This was confirmed by the ‘Accomplices’ report presented on Thursday. International Crisis Group. Until a few decades ago, the main role of women cartels And organized crime in general it was victimsBut more and more women assume that: responsibilities and leadership in organizations because patriarchy invisible in the presence of security forces.
According to researchers, the roles assumed by these women who join organizations are not far from those of men. “There small business (drug dealers), thieves of cars, auditors, hitmen…While some engage in low-level illegal activities solely as a means of earning a living, others rise to higher positions in the criminal hierarchy,” says one of the report’s researchers: Angelica Ospina. Although there is no official data on the presence of women in organized crime gangs, the media state that women represent 5% to 8% of active personnel.
The presence of these women in the cartels often responds to established gender roles in Mexican society. “Many women in Mexico They are trained to be unnoticeable, It’s easy for them to go unnoticed. Their gender may also facilitate access to victims, who are often male and may lower their guard against women because it is not expected of them. murderers“says the report. The same situation occurs, for example, in drug sales control positions. Gender stereotypes discourage them from being murderers and serve to escape the attention of authorities in trafficking cases.
volunteer recruitment
In most cases, recruitment It is part of the constant contact with. violence. “More than half of the active and retired women in the criminal groups interviewed for this report physical violence in their childhood and seven survived sexual violence. They began participating in criminal organizations in adolescence, began consuming illicit substances between the ages of 12 and 13, and the majority had their first child before the age of 18. For them, criminal life is a means of making money. self defense and a way to avoid being victimized,” says the researcher. “Many people, when they enter groups, find themselves untouchables for those who harm them,” adds Ospina.
In most cases, recruitment occurs quite organically and discreetly, with spouses already involved in crime accompanying them to carry out orders, either due to family ties or where illegal substances are purchased and consumed. Often women who join criminal groups do so to protect themselves from gender violence and to gain the power and respect that is lacking in a lawless society. This reinforces control According to researchers, “the children of the women involved weapons of extortion for their superiors.
Elimination of gender roles
He says that, contrary to popular belief, women join these criminal armies “of their own free will”. Sandra Ley, Coordinator of the Mexican Evalua Security Program. Moreover, their participation in organizations “shatters those myths” gender roles“. “Women only last link from these cartels. “They also hold high positions in the hierarchy,” he adds.
On the other hand, researchers underline that the involvement of women in cartels and criminal networks almost inevitably condemns their children to future involvement. The moment the mother stops being afraid of crime and becomes a part of it, there is no teaching or awareness left for the child that this is not a way out for him. Moreover, Ospina says, when these women are incarcerated, they “leave their children faced with the dilemma of being left alone or receiving support from the cartel.”