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Benito Juárez & Solidaridad: Shocking Rise in Women’s Safety Issues

Sexual abuse cases in the municipality of Benito Juárez rose by 4.48% in the first quarter of 2024, despite a 9% overall decrease in sexual crimes during the same period. The area continues to have the highest number of cases in the state, according to data from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP) updated on April 16.

Sexual abuse is the most common sexual crime in Quintana Roo, and Benito Juárez has the highest number of reported cases. In the first quarter of 2024, 163 cases were registered in this municipality: 56 in January, 43 in February, and 64 in March.

Benito Juárez accounted for 54.1% of all sexual abuse crimes in Quintana Roo from January to March 2024, amounting to 301 cases. The municipality of Solidaridad had the second highest incidence with 62 cases: 20 in January, 21 in February, and 21 in March, representing 20.59% of the state total.

Combined, these two municipalities in the northern zone accounted for 74.69% of the 301 cases of sexual abuse recorded in Quintana Roo, which are the two main tourist destinations in the Mexican Caribbean. Other municipalities with high incidences of this crime include Othón P. Blanco with 39 cases, Tulum with 10, Cozumel with 8, Bacalar with 7, Felipe Carrillo Puerto with 6, Isla Mujeres with 3, Lázaro Cárdenas with 2, and Puerto Morelos with 1. José María Morelos was the only municipality without any recorded cases.

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Rape is the second most common sexual crime in Quintana Roo. During the first quarter of this year, 176 cases were recorded, with 72.65% occurring in Benito Juárez and Solidaridad. The breakdown of cases from January to March is as follows:

  • 95 in Benito Juárez: 28 in January, 37 in February, and 30 in March.
  • 33 in Solidaridad: 10 in January, 7 in February, and 16 in March.
  • 23 in Othón P. Blanco.
  • 9 in Tulum.
  • 5 in José María Morelos.
  • 5 in Felipe Carrillo Puerto.
  • 3 in Bacalar.
  • 1 in Puerto Morelos.
  • 1 in Lázaro Cárdenas,
  • 1 in Cozumel.
  • 0 in Isla Mujeres.

In 2023, out of the 2,666 cases of crimes against freedom and sexual security recorded in Quintana Roo, 40.6% (1,085 cases) were sexual abuse and 27.7% (724 cases) were rape.