MEXICO CITY, Mexico: Acid attacks in Mexico City will be punishable by up to 12 years in prison under tough new measures approved Thursday to treat the crime as attempted murder, authorities said.
The penalties, which also include a fine, could be even more severe if the attack is committed against a woman because of her gender, the capital’s legislature said in a statement.
The Mexico City assembly approved the legislation “to punish acid violence and consider it as attempted homicide,” the legislature body said on social media platform X.
The reforms are recognized as “Malena’s Law” because of the famous case of one acid attack victim, saxophonist Maria Elena Rios, also known as Malena.
Several federal states have also toughened penalties as part of the same initiative, most notably Puebla in central Mexico, where acid attacks can lead to up to 40 years in prison.
A foundation founded by one victim, Carmen Sanchez, has documented 42 acid attacks against women in Mexico over the past 30 years.
Gender-based violence is a major problem in the Latin American country, where more than 2,500 women were murdered in 2023, according to official figures.
