Family and Partner Violence Against Women: Forced Marriage in Mexican Indigenous Communities

This article examines the reasons why and the circumstances in which Mexican women from seven indigenous communities in Oaxaca and Chiapas married or began a common-law relationship against their will, and the role played by their families. A recent national survey shows that 4.1 per cent of indigenous women was obliged to marry and 4.8 per cent was sold. This practice is conceptualized as an expression of both family and partner violence against women, but it is not often labelled and recognized as such. Forced marriage is associated with women’s transgression of traditional gender roles, rape, as well as traditions and practices that consider women’s opinions and consent as unnecessary. Forced marriages are less common now than they were in the past because of the greater awareness of women’s rights. But the practice persists. The link between non-consensual marriages and intimate partner violence is discussed, and public policy implications are presented.