Two attempted transfemicides in Mexico: One of the women is missing
Both women were attacked by their ex-partners. One was seriously injured, and her family is searching for the other woman.
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Two trans women were victims of attempted femicide perpetrated by their ex-partners in Baja California, in northwestern Mexico.
On August 10, Johana Alcalá (38 years old), a beauty salon owner, was beaten by her ex-partner and three other men in Ensenada . On August 25 in Tijuana, Isis Hernández (26 years old), a high school teacher and the current Miss Trans of the state, reported on social media that she was attacked by her ex-partner. Isis is currently missing. Activists are demanding justice in both cases.
The attempted femicide against Alcalá was reclassified as “attempted homicide” after her family and activists pressured the Prosecutor's Office. Previously, authorities had classified it as “simple assault.” Additionally, on Monday, August 29, a report was filed and a missing person report was issued for Isis Hernández.
Because Johana and Isis are two visible and recognized trans women in Baja California, the trans women's community and feminist activists in the state feel outrage. But they are also afraid to demonstrate publicly and in the streets given the context of widespread violence in the state .
Crimes as messages
Furthermore, they denounce that these attacks send a message to other trans women: "I could be next," they warn themselves.
“It is extremely important to highlight that both cases involve transphobic violence. These acts are analogous to femicide because in both cases there was prior reported violence ; there is a transgression against them from the private sphere to the public sphere because these are two highly visible, well-known, and successful women. In both attacks, there is extreme and devastating violence against their dignity. There is public exposure by the perpetrators of femicide,” explained Jey Fernández, an activist and public official from Baja California, in an interview with Presentes . “Johana was left homeless. And Isis’s attacker posted photos of her injured on social media with a threatening message directed at all women,” she added.
Presentes contacted the Baja California Attorney General's Office, who stated they could not provide details. They only clarified that "in both cases, we are working closely with the Secretariat of Social Inclusion and Gender Equality to support the victims. In the case of Sofía Milán, also known as Isis Hernández Pérez, it is expected that her family will file the corresponding report with the Search Commission."
“The attack against Johana was an attempted femicide.”
On August 10, Johana Alcalá was working in her beauty salon when her ex-partner, along with three men, attacked her with baseball bats.
Activist Jey Fernández recounts that after the attack, “they left her lying in the street with the intention that she would die there. The attack was brutal; they destroyed her face and head so badly that she needed 35 titanium screws for her first operation.”
“The attack against Johana was an attempted femicide. It’s important to call it that. It’s not just a hate crime because she’s a trans woman. It’s an attempted femicide because her attacker is her ex-partner. Because they left her lying in the street. Because her injuries were vicious, and because she lived in a relationship with a history of physical and psychological violence ,” explained activist Fernández.
Given the lack of official data on violent deaths and attacks against trans women, transfeminist organizations and collectives in Baja California are the ones collecting data. They do so using press reports and monitoring social media, since the Attorney General's Office withholds information on the cases.
According to the Ensenada and San Quintín Femicide Observatory, compiled by local transfeminist collectives and accessed Presentes All cases are marked by brutality and impunity.
“It’s no longer just the fact that we are killed at 35 years old, now we know that our femicidal aggressors are also our partners and ex-partners,” warns Fernández.
The Prosecutor's Office is not acting
This is the second attempted femicide that Johana Alcalá has survived at the hands of the same person, her ex-partner. The Attorney General's Office was aware of this.
In 2020, Johana, with visible injuries to her neck, filed a complaint against her ex-partner for attempted homicide under investigation file number NUC-0201-13927-2020. The then Attorney General's Office of the State of Baja California (now the Baja California State Prosecutor's Office ) classified the complaint as "simple assault." Furthermore, the authorities revictimized Johana during the legal process.
The recent attempted femicide that Johana survived meets five of the seven circumstances of “gender-based reasons” that determine the crime of femicide in the Baja California Penal Code, but the authorities denied the attempted femicide.
In the current investigation file, NUC-0201-11691-2022, the Prosecutor's Office initially classified the incident as "simple assault." It was only after pressure from activists, the family, and the support of Jey Fernandez, that the Prosecutor's Office reclassified the crime as "attempted homicide."
“In Baja California, the transphobic violence that trans women experience is not considered sufficient to be classified as attempted femicide or femicide itself. It doesn't matter that there is already a gender identity law in the state; the violence we experience or survive is simply not recognized as such, and that continues to be a huge failing of the justice system in Baja California,” Fernández denounces.
According to the activist, the Prosecutor's Office has not issued an arrest warrant against Johana's attackers.
Community support is activated for Johana
Johana remains hospitalized in intensive care due to the severity of her injuries. According to activist Jey Fernández, Johana suffered fractures to her skull, nasal septum, orbital bone, upper jawbone, and mandible.
Last Friday, August 26, Joahana, who does not have social security, underwent surgery in an operation where the cost of the 35 titanium screws alone amounts to 60,000 pesos.
“This is just the first surgery. Our colleague Johana needs financial support to cover her physical recovery. But not only that, our colleague Johana faces a huge emotional recovery, and that's why it's so important that the community continues to support her.”
To cover expenses, fundraising charity events are held in various locations throughout Baja California, including impersonation shows, film screenings, concerts, and dances.
Additionally, an account has been opened at BanCoppel. If you are interested in contributing, you can deposit to the following account number: 4169 1604 3979 2160 in the name of Arlene Guadalupe Alcalá Quintero.
Jey Fernández explained that since the crime is classified as "attempted homicide," they expect that in the coming days the Executive Commission for Attention to Victims of that entity will establish reparative measures for Johana, including psychological support.
Isis Hernandez remains missing
On August 25, Isis Hernández posted on one of her social media accounts that she had been the victim of an "attempted murder" at the hands of her ex-partner, Ricardo Camacho.
“Girls, I just survived an attempted murder by my ex-partner. All I can say is never tolerate this kind of violence. I'm currently in the emergency room, fighting for my life. My condition is critical, and I'm sharing photos of this killer. Today, thank God, I'm alive. Tomorrow, it could be you,” Isis wrote on one of her social media accounts.
In the post, she also included photos of herself with blood on her face, a swollen forehead, and deep wounds on her left forearm. However, after she reported the disappearance, friends and activists alerted authorities that they could not locate her.
In an interview with Presentes , Jey Fernández commented that he only learned on Sunday, August 28, that Isis “is being held captive by her femicide aggressor.”
“We won’t stop until we find her. We don’t know where he’s holding her, but there’s phone evidence that the Prosecutor’s Office is aware of. However, they haven’t activated their intelligence team at the State Investigation Agency because they insist that a formal complaint is required. But her friends and family are afraid to file a complaint. It’s important to be transparent, and the reality is that she’s being held captive by her abuser,” Fernández stated.
By the afternoon of Monday, August 29, a missing person report had been filed and the Baja California State Commission for the Search of Persons had published a missing person report with information to help locate Isis Hernández.
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