UN Finds Mexico Discriminated Against Women in Pretrial Detention

Committee calls for reforms to address gender-specific needs and end mandatory pretrial detention.

Published on Mar. 6, 2026

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The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has found that Mexico's mandatory and prolonged use of pretrial detention for certain crimes, along with failures to provide gender-specific healthcare and ensure proximity to families at the country's only women's federal prison, violated the rights of 22 women detainees. The Committee called for comprehensive reparations, urgent steps to address the women's medical and psychological needs, and reforms to eliminate mandatory pretrial detention which disproportionately impacts women.

Why it matters

This case highlights systemic discrimination against women in Mexico's criminal justice system, with women making up a disproportionate share of those held in pretrial detention. The lack of gender-sensitive policies and practices in detention facilities exacerbates the harm done to women, especially as primary caregivers. The UN ruling puts pressure on Mexico to overhaul its laws and practices to uphold the rights of women in the criminal justice system.

The details

The 22 women were held in pretrial detention at Mexico's only federal women's prison, CEFERESO 16, some since 2009, on charges related to organized crime. Mexico's Constitution mandates pretrial detention for such crimes, leading to years-long detentions without meaningful judicial review. The prison also lacked adequate medical staff and resources to address the women's specific health needs. Several women, including Patricia Melo Tapia, died from untreated medical conditions. The Committee found Mexico's policies and practices violated the principle of proportionality and discriminated against the women.

  • The 22 women were held in pretrial detention since as early as 2009.
  • Three of the women were acquitted in 2023-2024, over 10 years after their initial detention.
  • In 2020, the number of women in pretrial detention in Mexico increased by 10.3%, compared to a 1.9% increase for men.
  • In 2023, 12 women committed suicide at CEFERESO 16 prison.

The players

UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)

A UN treaty body that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Patricia Melo Tapia

A woman held in pretrial detention since 2011 who died in 2020 from untreated medical conditions.

Ivonne Hernández Carbajal

A woman arrested in 2012 who alleged she and her two teenage children were tortured at the time of arrest, and that she received no visits for eight years.

National Human Rights Commission

The Mexican national human rights institution that issued a recommendation in 2023 regarding the lack of adequate measures to ensure access to health at CEFERESO 16 prison.

Inter-American Court of Human Rights

The principal judicial institution of the Inter-American human rights system, whose ruling in García Rodríguez et al v Mexico was cited by the CEDAW Committee.

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What they’re saying

“These women were kept in pretrial detention for an excessively prolonged period, some of them for over 15 years, without proper review of the detention measure, and without any gender-sensitive assessment of its disproportionate impact on them as women.”

— Erika Schläppi, Committee member, UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Mirage News)

“These women in detention face structural discrimination owing to the lack of gender-sensitive alternative mitigating measures as a result of the government's failure to address their specific needs and the absence of effective gender-sensitive mechanisms for the review of prison-related decisions.”

— Erika Schläppi, Committee member, UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Mirage News)

What’s next

The Committee called on Mexico to urgently amend its constitutional and legislative provisions to eliminate mandatory pretrial detention, which has a disproportionate effect on women, and to review the complainants' precautionary measures through a gender lens with the aim of ending pretrial detention where possible and replacing it with non-custodial alternatives.

The takeaway

This UN ruling underscores the need for Mexico to overhaul its criminal justice policies and practices to address the systemic discrimination faced by women, particularly in the use of pretrial detention. Ensuring gender-sensitive approaches and alternatives to incarceration is crucial to upholding the rights and dignity of women in the criminal justice system.