“Gender Justice, Violence and Rights Claims. Indigenous Women of the Community Police of Guerrero” Costa-Montaña of Guerrero.

• In Event: Indigenous Peoples, Gender Justice and Legal Pluralism in the United States, Mexico and Guatemala

Abstract

This paper analyze the contribution of Na’savi and Me’phaa women to the practice of justice within the Communitarian System as well as the responses they have developed in order to face the increasing context of insecurity and violence. The research documents how women experience these processes and the new venues they seek to confront gender oppression, within or outside their communities. The Community Police, which has been providing security and justice services for over 70 rural communities in Guerrero since 1995, is today threatened by increased violence and the war against organized crime promoted by the Mexican State. Fragmentation and division directly affect women, forcing a rethink of the possibilities for advancing gender justice. This case will illuminate the tension between collective and individual rights and their impact on community justice, specifically at times when women’s demands tend to be subordinated to collective rights.

Author

• María Teresa Sierra Camacho, CIESAS