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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday called for sexual harassment to be made a criminal offence across the country after a man groped her and attempted to kiss her while she was walking on the street.
The incident occurred on Tuesday as Sheinbaum made her way to an engagement near the presidential palace, greeting and taking photos with attendees, as seen in social media videos.
The man approached Sheinbaum from behind, draped his arm around her shoulder, and used his other hand to touch her hip and chest while trying to kiss her neck. A member of her security team intervened and pulled the man away, who seemed to be under the influence of alcohol.
As the first female president of Mexico, Sheinbaum said on Wednesday that she chose to file a police report upon realising that the man continued to harass other women.
Law enforcement later confirmed that the man had been taken into custody. The government will assess whether such conduct “is a criminal offence in all states, as it should be a criminal offence, and we are going to begin a campaign,” she said, recalling that she experienced similar harassment in her early years.
Despite the incident, Sheinbaum maintained a polite demeanour towards the man, agreeing to pose for a photo with him and then giving him a pat on the back.
The 32 federal districts that make up the country each has its own criminal code, and not all of them include criminal penalties for such behaviour.
“This person approached me completely drunk, I don’t know if he was on drugs,” she said. “It wasn’t until I saw the videos that I realised what had really happened.”
The complaint against the individual was lodged with the prosecutor’s office in Mexico City, where there are legal repercussions for sexual harassment.
This incident also led to criticism directed at the president’s security team and condemnations of ingrained macho attitudes that trivialise unwanted violations of women’s personal space and bodies.
According to statistics from UN Women, around 70 per cent of Mexican women aged 15 and older experience at least one instance of sexual harassment during their lifetime.
