Brainstorm #5 - Sadie Van den Bogaerde

Señorita Extraviada broke my heart. The crimes described in the film make me sick, but the government’s blind eye to these atrocities is almost worse. It’s apparent that at the highest level of the government, those with power knew more than they let on about the femicides and did nothing with all their power to stop these crimes. They blame the victims for what they were wearing or the time they were walking home- not the rapists, the people who exploited vulnerable young women. This act is a devastatingly clear instance of the “social death” of a group of people. The victims- women, of dark skin and lower economic status- were betrayed by their government and deemed undeserving of protection and a sense of security, one of the most basic human rights undoubtedly because of their status. I was deeply moved to see the families of these women, many of them victims themselves, come together to try and fight for justice. When their government failed them and all the missing young women of the community, they grew stronger together. The community of families and victims in Juarez made altars and symbols of their murdered loved ones and were able to continue to bring light to these atrocities, even when the media didn’t. Even when forces as strong as the government seek to cause social death, continuing to honor the women who were failed by society is a practice that makes it impossible for them to be lost and forgotten.