Within the framework of the “Technical Cooperation Program for Capacity Building in Criminal Analysis and Crime Reduction Strategies in the South-Southeast of Mexico” of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a project was launched in collaboration with the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Chiapas, whose main objective was the implementation of a Strategic Criminal Prosecution scheme aimed at addressing the criminal phenomenon of violence against women in Chiapas.
In this regard, the factors that pose an imminent risk to the life or integrity of women were identified. For this, an analysis was conducted on the crimes of domestic violence, sexual assault, aggravated assault against women, attempted femicide, and femicide. According to data from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System of Mexico (SESNSP), it was found that in Chiapas during 2023, there were 972 investigation files opened for domestic violence, 293 for sexual assault, 1,118 for aggravated assault against women, and 35 for femicide. The numbers evidenced a large volume of cases and difficulties in identifying those with the highest risk of escalation. The situation highlighted the need to detect critical cases where accelerated violence escalation is present.
Given the need to address gender-based violence against women, a Risk Level Assessment Tool was designed that considers different phenomena of violence: psychological, physical, sexual, economic, patrimonial, and reproductive rights. A comparative analysis of eight national and international risk assessment instruments was conducted for its development. Then, to adapt to the local context, tests, adjustments, and iterations were carried out with operators from the Women’s Prosecutor’s Office and the Justice Center for Women (CEJUM for Centro de Justicia para las Mujeres in Spanish) in Tuxtla Gutiérrez. The result was a tool consisting of 26 questions that can be applied in 10 minutes, through which a risk assessment is obtained at three levels: low, medium, and high. The systematic application of this instrument has been carried out by the Women’s Prosecutor’s Office and the CEJUM operators since January 15, 2024.
The Differentiated Attention Scheme for Women at High Risk of Severe Violence accompanies the Tool in a second phase, allowing differentiated and prioritized attention to cases that present an imminent risk to the life or integrity of women. This is achieved after identifying a case as “high” risk through the application of the Tool and implementing the following steps:
The Scheme was developed by conducting a documentary review of protocols, regulations, and mapping of institutional processes. These practices were then adapted through working groups with operators from the Women’s Prosecutor’s Office and the CEJUM. The Scheme began to be implemented on January 22, 2024. In this process, the LAB-CO team supported the operators of the Women’s Prosecutor’s Office and the CEJUM in its implementation through biweekly sessions reviewing cases detected as “high” risk.
It is important to highlight that technological tools based on free software were used during the different phases of the project. Specifically, the following platforms were employed: 1) Google Forms for the implementation of the tool, 2) Google Sheets for the collection of information and score formulation, and 3) Looker Studio for the visualization of the tool, allowing, on the one hand, the printing of results, facilitating consultation and distribution at CEJUM and the Women’s Prosecutor’s Office; and on the other hand, a monitoring dashboard to track cases.
The advantages of using this type of open-source technological platform include:
This helps reduce the revictimization gap, preventing a victim from being questioned repeatedly at different stages of the process by various areas of the Prosecutor’s Office.
Among the main results is the formal establishment of a differentiated strategy that allows authorities to intervene in high-risk cases of gender-based violence against women, with coordinated, comprehensive care, as well as the institutionalization of both mechanisms (both the Tool and the Scheme) by the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Chiapas, which will allow the application of both instruments throughout the state. From January 15th to June 30th, 2024, 916 assessments have been recorded, identifying 69 cases where the victim is at high risk. Throughout the project’s development, the utility of the Tool and the Scheme was evidenced, as well as their direct impact on preventing the escalation of gender-based violence against women, contributing to the state public policy of eradicating gender-based violence against women.