Mexico: Murder Of Radio Journalist Teresa Aracely Puts The Targeting Of Women Journalists In The Spotlight
Location: Mexico, Ciudad Juarez
Date: February 21, 2020Available in: 🇪🇸 Espanol
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is concerned over the murder of Mexican radio journalist Teresa Aracely Alcocer. She was killed outside her home in Ciudad Juarez. We demand that the Mexican authorities take swift action to hunt down Teresa’s murderers.
The 37-year-old journalist Teresa, also known by her radio name Barbara Greco, was shot by a group of unknown gunmen, while she stood with her father outside her home. Her killers fled the scene and remain at large.The Special Prosecutor’s Office for Women in Chihuahua, a nearby city is conducting an investigation and the motive behind Teresa’s murder is yet to be determined.
Ciudad Juarez is notoriously known for femicides and Teresa’s killing shows the worsening situation of security or lack thereof that women journalists face in the city. Earlier, just last month in January, the killing of Isabel Cabanillas de la Torre, the 26-year-old women's rights activist and artist raised some tough concerns over the deteriorating state of women rights in the city. Violence against women is rampant in Juarez and human rights organizations continue to rally against femicides.
“It is astonishing and of deep concern that in spite of so many tremendous groups raising the issue against femicides, and targeting of women in different professions, Juarez is still a red zone for female activists and journalists,” said our CFWIJ founder Kiran Nazish. “This should not only concern us as a support organization for women journalists, but should also concern the authorities in mexico, government officials and public representatives who stand on the side of freedom and free speech in the country.”
With respect to the state of press freedom and security of journalists, Mexico remains the deadliest country in the world for journalists. Teresa, who worked for the La Poderosa radio station, is the second journalist to be killed this year. In June 2019, Mexican journalist Norma Sarabia was shot dead by two men in Tabasco. Her murderers still remain at large. At the time, Norma was the sixth journalist killed in Mexico. Read our statement.
In 2019, The Coalition documented nine murder cases of women journalists across the world. A man has been recently charged with the murder of Irish journalist Lyra Mckee. She was caught between crossfires and killed in April 2019. Chilean journalist Albertina Martinez’s murderer was also arrested and will be prosecuted for “robbery with homicide”. But the killers of Mina Mangal (Afghanistan), Santi Carvajal (Honduras), Hodan Nalayeh (Somalia), Urooj Iqbal (Pakistan), Sonia Alvarado (Peru) still remain at large.
The circumstances in which Iraqi journalist Lana Mohammad and her family were found dead was deemed a case of double murder-suicide by local police. Earlier this month, Egyptian journalist Rehab Badr’s body was found hanging from a ceiling fan inside her home in Cairo. While investigation indicated towards suicide, a security source also mentioned unclear circumstances in relation to her death.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism strongly condemns Teresa’s killing. We urge Mexican authorities to find the perpetrators and put her killers behind bars. The state of press freedom in the country is bleak and journalists continue to work under threatening conditions, where they are often killed for their journalism. In most cases, their murderers remain unpunished. Women journalists are much more vulnerable to violence, as offenders of press freedom consider them to be easy targets. We demand that this impunity end and the culprits are brought to justice.
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The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world, and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
Follow us on Instagram @womeninjournalism and Twitter @CFWIJ. Our website is WomenInJournalism.org and we can be reached at press@womeninjournalism.org
The Coalition For Women In Journalism closely monitors the incidents in Turkey with great concern. Since March 8, Women's Day, police violence against women journalists increasingly continues in the country. As the coalition, we urge the Turkish state to provide a free environment for journalists. Following the news is our most fundamental democratic right to report. We demand the immediate release of our detained colleagues. Journalism is not a crime. Journalism cannot be prevented.
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