The Japan Times - Mexico's Sheinbaum to boost reporting of sexual abuse after being groped

Mexico's first woman president, 63, was assaulted on Tuesday by a drunken man while walking through the streets of the capital.

The assault made global headlines and focused attention on the dangers and harassment suffered by many women in the Latin American country.

Sheinbaum has pressed charges against her attacker for sexual harassment, a charge that in Mexico City covers lewd behavior and groping.

She has also ordered a review of the widely diverging laws on sexual harassment and abuse across Mexico's 32 states.

Sexual harassment in public spaces is so prevalent in Mexico that in the last decade the authorities have created women-only spaces on the metro.

Other cities with similar arrangements include Mumbai and Rio.

"May what happened serve so that women do not feel alone in situations of harassment or abuse... and for this to happen, there must be institutions and a government that supports them," Sheinbaum told her regular morning press conference.

The UN says around 70 percent of Mexican girls and women aged 15 and over will experience at least one incident of sexual harassment in their lives.

Sheinbaum said that 45 percent had experienced sexual "abuse."

The man who assaulted her put one arm around her shoulder while she was greeting supporters and with his other hand touched her hip and chest, while attempting to kiss her neck.

A member of Sheinbaum's security detail pulled him away.

Citlalli Hernandez, Secretary for Women, said more than 25,000 complaints for sexual harassment have been filed so far this year.

The scale of the problem is believed to be far greater, however, with many women in Mexico, as elsewhere, hesitant to press charges for fear of being victim-shamed or not taken seriously.

Sheinbaum called for an "efficient and quick" reporting system "that truly allows justice to be served," but gave no details of what that might look like.

The attack raised eyebrows over the left-wing president's insistence on mixing with the public despite Mexican politicians regularly being a target for cartel violence.

The former Mexico City mayor has ruled out increasing her security.

"We need to be close to the people," she said.

M.Sugiyama--JT