QUINTANA ROO, Mexico – Quintana Roo has recorded the highest number of victims of sexual assault and abuse in the Yucatán Peninsula, according to the latest data from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System.
For the period spanning January through September, the state recorded an average of two victims daily for simple or equivalent rape, and four victims daily for sexual abuse or harassment.
Regional Comparison
Quintana Roo leads the region in these crime statistics, followed by Campeche and Yucatán.
- Quintana Roo: 1,820 total victims of sexual crimes.
- Campeche: Averaging five weekly victims of rape and three for sexual abuse or harassment.
- Yucatán: Recording the lowest figures in the region, with one weekly victim of rape and an average of 2.6 for abuse or harassment.
Breakdown of Crimes
The data distinguishes between “simple rape,” defined by the Federal Penal Code as the act of copulation with a person of any sex through physical or moral violence, and “equivalent rape.”
- Simple Rape: Quintana Roo recorded 325 victims; Campeche recorded 49; and Yucatán recorded 35.
- Equivalent Rape: This category includes non-consensual acts with minors, individuals unable to understand the act, or the penetration of a person with any object or instrument for lascivious purposes without violence. Quintana Roo recorded 260 victims, while Campeche recorded 143 and Yucatán recorded a single case.
Sexual Abuse and Harassment
In terms of sexual abuse—defined as any sexual act without consent and without the intent to reach copulation, performed in public or private—Quintana Roo recorded 980 victims. Harassment, which involves repeated unwanted sexual advances by someone in a position of authority (workplace, school, or domestic), accounted for 255 victims in Quintana Roo.
In comparison, Campeche reported 127 victims of abuse and 10 of harassment, while Yucatán recorded 77 and 19, respectively.