Human Rights along the U.S.Mexico Border: Gendered Violence and Insecurity
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Much political oratory has been devoted to safeguarding America's boundary with Mexico, but policies that militarize the border and criminalize immigrants have overshadowed the region's widespread violence against women, the increase in crossing deaths, and the lingering poverty that spurs people to set out on dangerous northward treks. This book addresses those concerns by focusing on gender-based violence, security, and human rights from the perspective of women who live with both violence and poverty. From the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico, scholars from both sides of the 2,000-mile border reflect expertise in disciplines ranging from international relations to criminal justice, conveying a more complex picture of the region than that presented in other studies. Initial chapters offer an overview of routine sexual assaults on women migrants, the harassment of Central American immigrants at the hands of authorities and residents, corruption and counterfeiting along the border, and near-death experiences of border crossers. Subsequent chapters then connect analysis with solutions in the form of institutional change, social movement activism, policy reform, and the spread of international norms that respect human rights as well as good governance. These chapters show how all facets of the border situation-globalization, NAFTA, economic inequality, organized crime, political corruption, rampant patriarchy-promote gendered violence and other expressions of hyper-masculinity. They also show that U.S. immigration policy exacerbates the problems of border violence-in marked contrast to the border policies of European countries. By focusing on women'severyday experiences in order to understand human security issues, these contributions offer broad-based alternative approaches and solutions that address everyday violence and inattention to public safety, inequalities, poverty, and human rights. And by presenting a social and democratic international feminist framework to address these issues, they offer the opportunity to transform today's security debate in constructive ways.
Preface vii1 Violence at the Border: Broadening the Discourse to Include Feminism, Human Security, and Deeper Democracy Kathleen Staudt 1Part I Framing the Problems: Violence, Security, and ImmigrationIntroduction to Part I 292 Women, Migration, and Sexual Violence: Lessons from Mexico's Borders Olivia T. Ruiz Marrujo 313 Human Bights Violations: Central American Immigrants at the Northeastern Mexico Border Alberto Martín Alvarez Ana Fernández Zubieta 484 Crime and Violence in the Arizona-Sonora Borderlands: NAFTA's Underground Economy as a Source of In/Security, with Comparisons to the EU Julie A. Murphy Erfani 635 In the Footsteps of Spirits: Migrant Women's Testimonios in a Time of Heightened Border Enforcement Anna Ochoa O'Leary 85Part II Toward Action in Civil Society, Policy, and Transnational PoliciesIntroduction to Part II 1056 Violence against Women at the Border: Unpacking Institutions Kathleen Staudt 1077 Femicide on the Border and New Forms of Protest: The International Caravan for Justice Carol Mueller Michelle Hansen Karen Qualtire 1258 Transnational Advocacy Networks, International Norms, and Political Change in Mexico: The Murdered Women of Ciudad Juárez' Olga Aikin Araluce 1509 Human Trafficking and Protections for Undocumented Victims in the United States David A. Shirk Alexandra T. Webber 168Closing Perspectives10 Closing Reflections: Bordering Human Rights, Social Democratic Feminism, and Broad-Based Security Kathleen Staudt Tony Payan Timothy J. Dunn 185References 203About the Editors 223About the Contributors 225Index 227
