Sexual harassment in Mexico drives women to look for rides with other women
MEXICO CITY (AP) — When a male driver from a popular ride-sharing app asked Ninfa Fuentes for her phone number during the ride. mexico cityfroze. But when she repeatedly pressed him about his Valentine’s Day plans, a wave of fear washed over him.
What was supposed to be a quiet ride home at the end of the workday three years ago has turned into a nightmare that many women in Mexico experience every day: holding their breath until they realize they’ve made it home alive.
“I felt like I was going to die,” Fuentes, 48, said. An international economic researcher and survivor of sexual violence, she has not used public transportation or ride-hailing services since.
Staggering levels of sexual harassment and gender-based violence There was a big buzz this week after Mexico’s first female president, Claudia Sheinbaum, was captured on video. being groped by a drunk man.
Following the incident, Sheinbaum said: He filed a criminal complaint against the man and announced a plan to criminalize sexual harassment in all Mexican states; This was a proposal that would make it easier for women to report such attacks. An average of 10 women are killed a day.
Safe space for women
After her frightening ride-sharing app experience, Fuentes turned to AmorrAs, a self-directed feminist network that provides safe transportation and support to women in Mexico City and its suburbs.
AmorrAs aims to provide a solution to the widespread problem of sexual harassment and other forms of gender-based violence that women routinely face on Mexico’s ride-sharing apps and public transportation.
The network was founded by 29-year-old Karina Alba. Murder of Debanhi Escobar in 2022He was found dead days after getting out of a taxi on a dark highway in the northern city of Monterrey.
Alba founded AmorrAs in hopes of providing safe rides for women, and chose her mother, taxi driver Ruth Rojas, as the network’s first driver. The network now has more than 20 female-only “allied” drivers serving more than 2,000 women a year.
“My dream was to contribute to society in some way,” Alba said. “I decided to do this by creating a safe space for women where they could live with dignity and free of violence.”
Riding with an ally
On a recent afternoon, 38-year-old Dian Colmenero received a WhatsApp message from Alba confirming that the woman whose car he would be driving was waiting at work. On the receiving end, the passenger read a message containing trip details, the name and number of their “ally” driver, and a reassuring pink heart emoji. The “ally” driver would soon be with him.
For security reasons, women must plan their travels with AmorrAs by filling out a form in advance. The price of each trip varies depending on the distance traveled.
Colmenero, who works in marketing with AmorrAs when he’s not driving, stole a kiss from his partner and petted his old Yorkie before heading to one of the city’s financial districts.
“Before driving with AmorrAs, I had experienced violence on public transportation, the subway, and even on ride-hailing apps,” he said. “I once had to travel with a driver who told me and my partner that he had beaten many women.”
Colmenero welcomed his regular passenger, Ninfa Fuentes, with a warm embrace. They chatted about their families, the book Fuentes wrote, and their shared new ADHD diagnosis.
As the noise of the Mexican capital’s traffic rocks the car, Fuentes looks out the window, confident he’ll get home safely.
History of violence against women
According to the Executive Secretariat of the National System of Public Security, Mexico has reported 61,713 sex crimes so far in 2025, including 8,704 reports of sexual harassment.
The National Femicide Observatory says sex crimes in Mexico are the most under-reported crimes due to the high level of stigma surrounding them and the lack of credibility of authorities.
32-year-old lawyer Norma Escobar partners with AmorrAs to offer legal support to women who say they have been harassed or attacked.
Escobar said she overheard a forensic examiner in the gender crimes division of the Mexican state Attorney General’s office dismiss women who complained of sexual assault on more than one occasion, telling them, “Nothing happened to you, there have been worse cases.”
Escobar, who handles cases of harassment on the streets and on public transport, said the lack of a forensic doctor prevented women from making official reports in some cases.
Reached by The Associated Press, a spokesman for the Mexican state’s Attorney General’s Office said it had no knowledge of the doctor’s alleged comment, but that the office took action against those involved when problems were identified.
Experts and advocates say the history of violence against women in Mexico stems from deep-rooted cultural machismo and systemic gender inequality, as well as a justice system riddled with problems.
“Women often abandon their cases when they see that the authorities belittle them,” Escobar said, noting that “the authorities lack interest, commitment and professionalism” when it comes to ensuring women’s access to justice.
Getting in the door with one hand
Like many other women in Mexico, 30-year-old Nejoi Meddeb always traveled with her hand locked on the door handle so she could escape if necessary. 23-year-old Lidia Gabriela Gómez died this way in 2022 by jumping from a moving taxi in Mexico City after the driver took a different route than the one he wanted.
Maria José Cabrera, a 28-year-old engineer, said that when she got out of the minibus on her way to the train, a man followed her. She ran to take shelter in the subway car reserved for women only. In another incident, she said, a man touched her inappropriately in one of the city’s mixed subway cars, and when she reacted the man was gone.
Cabrera, who now travels with AmorrAs, said she also avoids wearing skirts and doesn’t go anywhere without making sure someone she trusts is watching her journey; this is a common internalized protocol for many women in Mexico.
“For me, AmorrAs represents being able to do things that I couldn’t do before,” Cabrera said. “I really love going to concerts. It shouldn’t have happened like this, but I probably wouldn’t have been able to do it without them.”
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