Share

Share this

Share on Facebook Share on Facebook Tweet Share on Twitter Share on WhatsApp Share on WhatsApp

SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER

Diego is a young man originally from San Juan de los Lagos, Jalisco. In 2024, he moved to Mexico City to study Politics and Public Administration at El Colegio de México (Colmex), a public university dedicated to the study of the most prestigious social sciences and humanities in Mexico. In July of last year, Diego was raped by Sebastián 'N', a classmate from the same university. Colmex has responded to his complaint slowly, failing to properly apply the protocol against gender-based violence, and has disclosed his data and private information. The Mexico City Attorney General's Office has also re-victimized him. 

“After what happened, I was very confused. I didn't know what had really happened. I didn't understand… It was hard for me to accept this and that what had happened to me wasn't right, that he shouldn't have done this to me, especially if I didn't want it. And that the authorities' actions weren't right,” Diego shares.

The process of coming to terms with what had happened was long and painful. Initially, she viewed it as abuse, but upon receiving psychological support, she realized she had been a victim of rape. Diego's search for justice has been marked by institutional indifference, re-victimization, and a lack of a gender perspective with particular attention to sexual diversity. 

Diego grew up in an environment where talking about sexual diversity wasn't entirely easy, and today he prefers to refer to himself as a "non-heterosexual man." 

A path of obstacles: the lack of support at Colmex

On October 8, 2024, Diego made the difficult decision to withdraw and informed the academic coordinator of the Center for International Studies (CEI), Naín Martínez, of his situation. The CEI director, Fernanda Somuano, was also present at this meeting. Diego explained that the reason for his withdrawal was that he felt at risk after experiencing sexual assault. 

Both the coordinator and the director of the CEI told her that in her resignation letter she should not mention sexual violence but rather argue that her reason was "personal reasons." 

On October 9, Digo submitted his final resignation. "I explained that I had experienced sexual abuse and that I was prioritizing my emotional well-being." However, this time, no one from the university personally greeted him. He simply left the letter with the secretaries and had no further contact with El Colmex authorities. 

“I didn't like being at school. I didn't like seeing Sebastián in the cafeteria, in my language classes, watching him carry on with his life as if nothing had happened, while I felt destroyed. It made me realize I was no longer comfortable, and for my safety and well-being, I made one of the hardest decisions of my life,” Diego recalls. 

The institutional response was cold and bureaucratic. After his discharge, Colmex withdrew all forms of assistance: psychological, financial, and nutritional support. Furthermore, his institutional access was revoked, completely isolating him.

"El Colmex's response has made me feel completely alone," he adds.

Although Colmex has a gender-based violence protocol, the El Colegio de México Protocol to prevent acts of gender-based violence and to address cases of sexual harassment, Diego says that at no point during the meeting where he presented the reasons for his dismissal did either the director or the academic coordinator of the CEI inform him about the mechanisms to activate it.

It wasn't until December that Diego formally decided to activate the protocol. But even after doing so, he was asked to explain why he was doing it "so late" and told he would have to wait until the end of the vacation period.

“When I filed my complaint using the protocol, they told me I had to wait until they returned from vacation and asked me, 'Why until now?' Why do I have to wait three weeks to demand justice? In January, they even gave me the runaround. I was the one who had to go to the legal department to find out the progress of my case. And nothing happened,” Diego recalls.

By then, Sebastián 'N' had already received authorization from El Colmex to go on an academic exchange to Poland, which practically guaranteed his impunity. 

The response from El Colmex

On February 13, El Colmex issued a statement stating that since they attended to the activation of the protocol against gender violence (in January, although Diego activated it in December), both the director and the academic coordinator of the CEI, "offered the student their support and made psychological and legal counseling available to him, and the relevant procedure was initiated."

Diego already had psychological support from El Colmex while still a student. After the sexual violence he experienced, he approached his then-psychologist to discuss what had happened and received four sessions. However, after he filed for academic suspension due to feeling his well-being was at risk for living with his abuser, the university withdrew those services. 

This led Diego to seek external psychological support from Nube (the Urban Center for Emotional Well-being of the Institute for Care) of the Mexico City government. 

At Nube, her case was treated as a psychological emergency, so she began psychological treatment from the first session. “They referred me as an emergency. I wasn't feeling well at all, I didn't even understand what I had experienced; I was just feeling so much pain, and I couldn't even name what had happened to me because I trusted that person,” she recalls. 

"Once the formal complaint was received at El Colegio de México in January of this year, in accordance with the Protocol, actions were taken to guarantee and preserve the safety and integrity of the complainant. These actions included reiterating the offer of the necessary psychological and legal support, and initiating the appropriate procedure, which is currently underway," the institution's statement reads. 

Diego says it's false that he was offered such support, and even today, more than a month after activating the protocol, he still hasn't received any answers. 

In its statement, El Colmex insists that it "safeguards the dignity and integrity of the parties involved," but it has even denied Diego information about his own complaint. And he has been denied access to "dialogue tables" that university authorities have held with Diego's friends.

On Tuesday, February 19, his friends and other students held a protest inside El Colmex. Diego says he's moved by these actions but also fears reprisals for those who protest and demand justice for him. 

Revictimization by the CDMX Prosecutor's Office

On December 20, Diego filed his complaint with the Second Prosecutor's Office for Sexual Crimes Investigation in Álvaro Obregón. There, he faced a series of re-victimizing questions. 

"They made me write down everything that had happened to me. I expected them to listen to me, to tell me what to do, to give me guidance. But it was quite the opposite. They made me feel like I had to justify myself, that if I said anything wrong, Sebastián could take action against me. At that moment, I broke down. I felt completely alone," Diego says.

During his statement, he was warned that if he didn't tell the truth, his attacker could sue him. He also underwent an invasive medical examination. Regarding his sexual orientation, Diego believes that, as a man filing a complaint for a sexual crime, the Prosecutor's Office discredited his story and his complaint. 

"It's not something you feel comfortable with, and here we go again: I didn't ask for it. I didn't want this to happen to me. What was my fault? Yes, I did let someone into my house, but it was someone I trusted."

Like El Colmex, the Prosecutor's Office has not contacted Diego to follow up on his complaint. He has had to persist in obtaining information, but has received no concrete answers.

Consequences of reporting

Since speaking out, Diego has faced retaliation both inside and outside of El Colmex. He has seen job opportunities rejected, such as at the National Electoral Institute (INE), where after learning of his case, they dropped him for a position. Diego fears that speaking out will have this and other repercussions for his future. 

Furthermore, he has been the victim of leaks of his personal information and conversations within the university. It is currently unknown who leaked Diego's private conversations and how they distorted his story. During the protest on Tuesday, February 19, he was recorded without his consent by Patricio Solís, a member of Colmex. 

"I won't be the only victim, that's why I'm speaking out. We have to speak out."

Despite everything, Diego continues to fight. He has publicly denounced El Colmex's negligence and is demanding that those responsible for his case, including the director of the CEI, Fernanda Somuano, and the academic coordinator, Naín Martínez, be removed from their positions.

"I no longer want the director of the CEI and the academic coordinator to hold those positions. They didn't do what they were supposed to do. They don't deserve to lead an institution that should protect its students," says Diego.

Within the university, Diego is also being supported by Unidas Colmex, a trans-inclusive feminist collective, and Todes Colmex, a student group for sexual diversity. Both groups have denounced the lack of gender and diversity perspectives in the implementation of the El Colmex protocol. 

"I won't be the only victim. There are many more who haven't had justice. That's why I'm speaking out, we have to speak out. We can't continue allowing this to happen," Diego concludes in an interview.
Diego also plans to take his case to La Mañanera, the daily press conference given by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, in order to seek justice.