Attempts to roll back progress on sexual and reproductive rights, the degradation of women's work and the rising violence against women are characteristics of the 21st century.
The situation of women in Mexico in many ways symbolises the erosion of women's rights taking place across the whole of Latin America.
Abortion is still illegal in most parts of the continent, except under very narrow curcumstances. In Mexico City, where reforms have been passed to permit abortions under a broader range of conditions, the lack of response within the public health system still often leaves poor women without the option.
A recent survey in Mexico shows that only half the sexually active adolescents protect themselves from sexually transmitted disease. The Latin American Women's Health Centre estimates that in all of Latin America only one out of every 10 single, sexually active adolescents uses contraceptives.
The number of HIV-AIDS patients has been rising steac ily, despite under-reporting, and the percentage of women among them is also on the tise. Another result of unprotected sex is an increase in te nage pregnancies - half a million last year in Mexico.
Ct anges in the global economy have also had negative impa it on women's lives as a tour through the Mexican coun ryside reveals. Male emig ation has left women with he double work of farm
Prel Blanca Dios Cafes murder of young women young women in the Mexican border town of Ciudad Juarez has caused an international outcry. In many cases the women are single migrants from other parts of Mexico, living independently and sending money from their wages in foreignowned factories.
Women's believe their way of life has made the young workers targets of resentment in the lawless, male-dominated culture of the Silvia
Laura Carisen of the New Mexico-based International Relations Center who compiled the data on Mexico sees the tide of reaction there as part of a growing trend across Latin America and beyond.
Supporting women's rights, she says, ' is not a matter of being politically correct or expressing solidarity but an integral part of any definition of justice or development." • Further information www.irconline.org Fourth International