A Statistical Evaluation of Femicide Rates in Mexican Cities Along the US-Mexico Border

Abstract:     
Mexican cities along the US-Mexico border, especially Cd. Juarez, became notorious for supposedly presenting abnormally high levels of femicide. Nonetheless, evaluation of data ranging from 1998 to 2003 shows that after factoring in the effects of male homicide, femicide rates in the region, including Cd. Juarez, are consistent with rates in non-border Mexican cities in the same states. Femicide rates in Cd. Juarez are lower than in Houston and Ensenada and as a share of overall homicide rates they are typically lower than in other cities considered in the study. These results challenge the literature on US-Mexico border femicide.

Keywords: Crime, Gender Violence, Violence against Women, Homicide, Femicide, Border, Mexico, Juarez

JEL Classifications: K42, J16, Z13

Working Paper Series