Hashtag goes viral in Mexico following murder of young woman

Latin America

Hashtag goes viral in Mexico following murder of young woman

The recent murder of a young woman in Mexico City has sparked a public out-cry on social media.

The result has been a viral hashtag with a powerful message.

CGTN’s Franc Contreras reports.

A murder took place a few weeks ago on the campus of Mexico City’s well-known National Autonomous University. Until now, it was considered a sanctuary for young women.

Twenty-two-year-old Lesby Berlin was strangled. Her killer used the cord from a public telephone. Police have yet to make any arrests.

Over the years, hundreds of women in the border city of Ciudad Juarez have been murdered, or have simply disappeared. Sometimes their bodies turn up in the desert.

The centrally-located state of Mexico has become the country’s epicenter of violent murders involving female victims. Most of these cases are never prosecuted.

Pent up anger over a lack of justice exploded nationally after Mexico City’s top law enforcement official publicly implied that the woman killed at the university had been drinking.

Across Mexico, tens of thousands of women joined forces, creating the hashtag “Si Me Matan” meaning “If They Kill Me.” It went viral.


VIDEO: Here’s how women in Mexico are denouncing victim blaming:

Protests are no longer confined just to the streets of Mexico. They can spread across social media with hashtags.

See the latest tweets here: