What the Attacks on Mexico’s President & Miss Universe Rep Reveal About Violence Against Women
Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum
In a span of 48 hours this week, two high-profile Mexican women, one the nation’s first female president, the other a beauty queen, faced public violations, reigniting global conversations on women’s safety.
On Wednesday, November 5, 2025, President Claudia Sheinbaum was groped in Mexico City. While interacting with the public, a man approached her, put his arm around her, and attempted to kiss her. The following day, Sheinbaum pressed charges, remarking, “If they do this to the president, what will happen to all women in our country?”
Miles away in Thailand, Mexico’s representative in the Miss Universe competition, Fátima Bosch, faced a different, but equally distressing kind of violation. During a briefing with fellow contestants, an executive called her “dumb,” prompting a walkout by participants in solidarity. This incident underscores that gender-based violence extends beyond physical assault, it thrives in verbal and professional contexts, where power dynamics and public humiliation compound harm.
Though different in form, both incidents expose the many faces of violence against women, and demonstrate that no woman, regardless of status, is immune.
Miss Universe Mexico
In the 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, violence against women is defined as:
"any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life."
Violence can be physical (ranging from groping and sexual assault to femicide), verbal, emotional, and systemic, and can take place across many avenues including cyberspaces. Socio-economic conditions can heighten risk, but as these high-profile cases make clear, status is not a shield.
Violence doesn’t just occur behind closed doors; it plays out in public spaces, including workplaces, and political arenas. In Italy, elected female mayors are approximately three times more likely to experience an attack than their male equivalents. Across five regions, 82 per cent of women parliamentarians reported having experienced some form of psychological violence while serving their terms. This included remarks, gestures, and images of a sexist or humiliating sexual nature, threats, and mobbing. Social media is the main platform for this type of abuse, with nearly half (44 per cent) of women lawmakers reporting receiving death, rape, assault, or abduction threats towards them or their families. Sixty-five per cent of women parliamentarians reported being subjected to sexist remarks, primarily by male colleagues in parliament.
These week’s incidents come just weeks before the annual 16 Days of Activism campaign, aimed at raising awareness of gender‑based violence and connecting survivors with support. They also highlight effective responses - reporting and solidarity. The decision by Claudia Sheinbaum to press charges opened legal scrutiny and a national conversation on public safety, while the Miss Universe 2025 organization’s suspension of the executive signaled accountability in professional spaces. These examples demonstrate that confronting perpetrators, even in high-stakes or high-visibility roles, can set precedents and inspire broader systemic change.
Yet less than 40 per cent of the women who experience violence seek help of any sort. In most countries with available data, those who do typically turn to family and friends; very few seek support from formal institutions like police or health services. Less than 10 per cent of those seeking help appealed to the police. This points not only to the need for awareness but to structural barriers, including distrust in institutions, that prevent women from accessing justice. Localized, accessible, and responsive support systems must be expanded.
Beyond immediate harm, violence affects mental well-being. Research shows that women exposed to gender-based violence are significantly more likely to develop mental health conditions, including depression, and have two to three times greater risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared with women not exposed. The public, professional, and political arenas, where many of these incidents occur, compound this harm through humiliation and repeated exposure.
Society must strengthen bystander intervention, expand support systems, and ensure safety and accountability at every level, from streets and workplaces to parliaments and online spaces. A quick, practical way to help reduce violence is by sharing resources rather than circulating videos or images that exploit or retraumatize victims. Our growing directory lists providers across the globe who offer psychological and crisis support for survivors, including locally tailored services in Mexico and other countries, ensuring practical avenues for immediate help.
Until women are safe on sidewalks and stages, in offices and online, the work remains unfinished. Confronting violence in all its forms, recognizing systemic barriers, and amplifying solidarity and survivor agency is the only path toward meaningful change.
