Substantive Equality, Gender-Based Violence, and the Justice System in Mexico: A Critical Analysis from the Perspective of the CEDAW Committee and Gender Public Policies

Abstract

This paper critically examines the relationship betweensubstantive equality, structural gender-based violence, and the functioningof the justice system in Mexico, using the Convention on the Elimination ofAll Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) as its normative framework. Special emphasis is placed on the Concluding Observationsissued by the CEDAW Committee to the Mexican State in 2018 and 2025, as well as on General Recommendations No. 28 (core obligations of Statesparties), No. 33 (access to justice), and No. 35 (gender-based violenceagainst women). The paper argues that the persistence of genderstereotypes in judicial and prosecutorial practices operates as a form ofinstitutional violence and constitutes part of a broader framework ofstructural gender-based violence that reproduces impunity and underminesthe realization of substantive equality. Drawing on a human rights–basedapproach, gender perspective, and intersectionality, the study proposes a set of reforms and public policies aimed at transforming the justice system, strengthening enhanced due diligence, ensuring gender-responsive budgeting, and improving accountability through results-based indicators.