Members of the Marabunta Brigade try to stop police from attacking demonstrators during a protest against gender violence in Mexico City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. The protest comes after last week's vicious murder of Ingrid Escamilla by her husband and controversy unleashed by the leaking of images of her body to the press, in a country where an average of 10 women are killed every day. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)
The Associated Press
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Angry demonstrations broke out in Mexico City on Friday as hundreds of women protested the gruesome slaying and mutilation of a young woman, a case that has come to personify outrage over the rising incidence of gender-related killings, or femicides.
In the morning, dozens of protesters spray-painted slogans such as 'œWe won't be silenced'ť on the facade and doorway of the capital's National Palace as President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was holding his daily news conference inside.
Hours later hundreds marched to the offices of a media outlet that published grisly images of the crime scene, and a newspaper truck outside was partially set ablaze. Some spray-painted the plastic shields of riot officers as the crowd chanted 'œNot one more murdered!'ť and 'œJustice!'ť Police unleashed pepper spray.
As a cool rain fell in the evening, those remaining left and walked down the central Reforma boulevard, where some bus stop windows were shattered and signs vandalized.
About 10 women are slain each day across Mexico just because they are women, the government and activists say. Last year there were 3,825 in all, which was up 7% from 2018, according to federal figures.
Not only have attacks on women become more frequent, they have become more grisly. In September, a young female musician in the southern state of Oaxaca was burned with acid by two men who testified they had been hired by a former politician and businessman who allegedly had an affair with her.
But the killing last weekend of Ingrid Escamilla, a young Mexico City resident who was allegedly murdered by a boyfriend, has horrified Mexicans for its brutality.
The man, who has been arrested and purportedly confessed to killing Escamilla with a knife, mutilated her body and flushed part of her corpse into the sewer.
Indignation grew after some local media published horrific photos of the skinned corpse, apparently leaked by city police officers.
The protesters read a statement Friday saying 'œit enrages us how Ingrid was killed, and how the media put her body on display.'ť
'œIt enrages us that the public judges us, saying 'this isn't the right way to express your rage,'" the statement continued. 'œWe are not mad, we are furious.'ť
In the past, women's protests in Mexico City had been criticized for spray-painting historical monuments and trashing city infrastructure, but the damage Friday was minor, and criticism almost non-existent.
Instead, officials condemned media outlets for publishing the photos and said they were investigating police who may have taken the photos with their cellphones at the crime scene.
The Interior Department said in a statement it 'œcondemns the publication and distribution of such material, given that it re-victimizes people and promotes sensationalism and morbid curiosity. It is an attack on the dignity, privacy and identity of the victims and their families.'ť
The president said Friday morning in the colonial-era palace as the protesters were outside that such killings were hate crimes and 'œan act of brutal machismo.'ť
But early this week, López Obrador showed little patience for those who questioned him about the government's commitment to fighting violence against women.
'œThis issue has been manipulated a lot in the media,'ť the president said Monday, adding that 'œI don't want the issue just to be women's killings.'ť
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Associated Press writer Peter Orsi in Mexico City contributed to this report.
A demonstrator holds up a stencil of the Spanish message: "Mexico Femicide" in Mexico City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. The demonstration against gender violence comes after last week's vicious murder of Ingrid Escamilla by her husband and controversy unleashed by the leaking of images of her body to the press, in a country where an average of 10 women are killed every day. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)
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A masked, female protester stands with a sign before the media at the entrance to the National Palace, the presidential office and residence, after demonstrators covered it in fake blood and the Spanish message: "Femicide State," in Mexico City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. The demonstration against gender violence comes after last week's vicious murder of Ingrid Escamilla by her husband and controversy unleashed by the leaking of images of her body to the press, in a country where an average of 10 women are killed every day. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)
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Masked, female protesters hold drawings resembling Ingrid Escamilla, who was killed by her husband last week, during a protest against gender violence outside the National Palace, the presidential office and residence, in Mexico City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. The demonstration against gender violence comes after Escamilla's vicious murder and controversy unleashed by the leaking of images of her body to the press, in a country where an average of 10 women are killed every day. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)
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A masked, female protester sprays fire at the entrance to the National Palace, the presidential office and residence, after demonstrators covered it in fake blood and the Spanish message: "Femicide State," in Mexico City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. The demonstration against gender violence comes after last week's vicious murder of Ingrid Escamilla by her husband and controversy unleashed by the leaking of images of her body to the press, in a country where an average of 10 women are killed every day. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)
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A stands guard outside the National Palace, the presidential office and residence, during a demonstration against gender violence in Mexico City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. The protest comes after last week's vicious murder of Ingrid Escamilla by her husband and controversy unleashed by the leaking of images of her body to the press, in a country where an average of 10 women are killed every day. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
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A woman holds up a sign in Spanish directed to Mexico's President: "Andres Manuel, silence is criminal" during a protest against gender violence outside the National Palace, the presidential office and residence, in Mexico City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. The demonstration comes after last week's vicious murder of Ingrid Escamilla by her husband and controversy unleashed by the leaking of images of her body to the press, in a country where an average of 10 women are killed every day. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)
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Protesters bring down a street sign during a demonstration against gender violence in Mexico City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. The protest comes after last week's vicious murder of Ingrid Escamilla by her husband and controversy unleashed by the leaking of images of her body to the press, in a country where an average of 10 women are killed every day. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)
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A masked, female protester sprays the Spanish message "They're killing us" on the exterior of the National Palace, the presidential office and residence, during a demonstration against gender violence in Mexico City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. The protest comes after last week's vicious murder of Ingrid Escamilla by her husband and controversy unleashed by the leaking of images of her body to the press, in a country where an average of 10 women are killed every day. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)
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Riot police form a cordon during a demonstration by women against gender violence in Mexico City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. The protest comes after last week's vicious murder of Ingrid Escamilla by her husband and controversy unleashed by the leaking of images of her body to the press, in a country where an average of 10 women are killed every day. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)
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A masked, female protester takes part in a demonstration against gender violence in Mexico City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. The protest comes after last week's vicious murder of Ingrid Escamilla by her husband and controversy unleashed by the leaking of images of her body to the press, in a country where an average of 10 women are killed every day. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
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A woman holds up her fist covered in fake blood during a protest against gender violence outside the National Palace, the presidential office and residence, in Mexico City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. The demonstration comes after the murder of Ingrid Escamilla by her husband and controversy unleashed by the leaking of images of her body to the press, in a country where an average of 10 women are killed every day. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)
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A protester sets fire to a piece of cardboard attached to a bus during a demonstration against gender violence in Mexico City, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. The protest comes after last week's vicious murder of Ingrid Escamilla by her husband and controversy unleashed by the leaking of images of her body to the press, in a country where an average of 10 women are killed every day. (AP Photo/Ginnette Riquelme)
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