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Male chauvinism in Mexico is so pervasive that not even the president is protected,” stated Caterina Camastra, voicing a feeling echoed by numerous women throughout the nation. This follows after a viral video showed a drunk man groping Claudia Sheinbaum as she strolled from the presidential residence to the education ministry. Sheinbaum, who has filed a complaint against the assailant, remarked at a media conference: “When this happens to the leader, what happens to every other women in the nation?”

Unprecedented Position Highlights on Pervasive Sexual Harassment

Sheinbaum’s historic position has turned this into a teaching moment in a society where unwanted advances and assault on streets and buses and trains are often normalized and dismissed. Meanwhile, rival factions have alleged the assault was orchestrated to divert attention from the recent murder of a local mayor, a critic of organized crime. However, the majority of women understand that sexual violence doesn’t need staged—research indicate that half of Mexican women have experienced it at one time or another in their lifetimes.

Navigating Public Engagement and Safety

The president, similar to her predecessor, is known for wading into crowds, greeting people, and posing for selfies. She was such an interaction that she was assaulted. “It’s a fragile equilibrium between ensuring security and being close to the people,” noted Ishtar Cardona. For a female president, it’s a sobering realization that you often face no-win situations.

Those brought up in a deeply conservative way where male-dominated systems are normalized, a female leader such as the president, who is a academic and a leftist, represents everything traditional males in Mexico despise,” the sociologist explained.

Common Stories of Assault and Resistance

Sexual assault is not unique to Mexico, naturally. Talking about the president’s experience unleashed a flood of memories and exchanged stories among women. As the expert mentioned advising her students to react when groped, she heard about personal experiences, such as one where a woman was violated twice during a religious pilgrimage. Similarly, accounts of fighting back—like beating up a assailant in a nightspot—underscore a growing global trend of women rejecting to stay silent.

Shattering Silence and Channeling Outrage

Perhaps this event will mark a critical moment for Mexican women. “For about a decade, we’ve been challenging the taboo, but it’s very tough,” Cardona remarked. “Many women feel embarrassed, but now we are able to talk about it with greater openness.” She routinely discusses with her students the precautions she employs when leaving home, such as thinking about clothing to avoid unwanted advances. She asks a question to her male pupils: “Have you ever considered about that?” Their response is invariably no.

Now, with the president’s assault recorded on video and seen globally, can men in Mexico start to think differently? Cardona encourages all: “You have to harness the outrage!”

A key point is clear: Those who fight back make their assailants remember.