Roxana Ruiz killed the man who was raping her. A Mexico court sentenced her to 6 years in prison
- The court said hitting the man on the head would have been enough to defend herself, and ordered her to pay over US$16,000 to her rapist’s family
- The ruling spurred anger from experts and feminist groups, who pointed to the country’s poor record of bringing perpetrators of sexual violence to justice
A Mexican woman who killed a man defending herself when he attacked and raped her in 2021 was sentenced to more than six years in prison, a decision her legal defence called “discriminatory” and vowed to appeal on Tuesday.
The ruling against Roxana Ruiz spurred anger from experts and feminist groups who said it speaks to the depth of gender-based violence and Mexico’s poor record of bringing perpetrators of sexual violence to justice.
“It would be a bad precedent if this sentence were to hold. It’s sending the message to women that, you know what, the law says you can defend yourself, but only to a point,” said Angel Carrera, her defence lawyer. “He raped you, but you don’t have the right to do anything.”
Associated Press does not normally identify sexual assault victims, but Ruiz has given her permission to be identified and participates in public demonstrations led by activists who support her.
While the Mexico State court found Monday that Ruiz had been raped, it said the 23-year-old was guilty of homicide with “excessive use of legitimate defence”, adding that hitting the man in the head would have been enough to defend herself. Ruiz was also ordered to pay more than US$16,000 in reparations to the family of the man who raped her.