Mexico is considered one of the most high-risk countries for journalism, a place where denouncing organized crime costs people their lives. Journalists there are harassed, threatened, ‘disappeared’ and murdered.

The wave of violence, especially against journalists, permeates the lives of people at all socio-economic levels. This paper shows the impact that this violence has on the personal experiences of families of murdered and disappeared journalists, and reveals the lack of support they face. It also advocates for effective public policies for the state to protect, inform and aid victims.

Key points:

  • The threats, harassment and intimidation journalists face also affect their children, partners and parents both as a result of the violence itself and when investigations are subsequently carried out.
  • Labour standards in the field of journalism do not recognize employees’ rights to social security benefits, which, in turn, affects the rights of their children and families.
  • The lax implementation of laws meant to protect victims affected by the murder or disappearance of journalists mainly infringes on the rights to truth, justice and full redress.
  • Cuts to public funding for victims as well as public policy that is susceptible to corruption and that allows crimes to be committed with impunity weaken the commitments Mexico has made in international treaties.
  • Mexico sees to only some of the needs of the families of murdered and disappeared journalists, and individual and collective support networks are scarce.

    This publication is the result of a project developed by Griselda Triana with a grant of the Resilience Fund. Claudia Liza Corona de la Pena, professor at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico recognized for her experience in human rights issues, designed the methodology, conducted interviews and developed tools for data analysis. The project also had the invaluable support of Balbina Flores Martinez, correspondent and representative of Reporters Without Borders in Mexico, who has been documenting attacks against the press and assisting victims for more than a decade.