PRESS RELEASE

Women`s Human Rights defenders and journalists express concern for

members of the Lesboterrorists Collective

Mexico City, Mexico, May 25th 2015

The National Network of Journalists, the International Network of Journalists with a Gender
Perspective, the National Network of Women`s Human Rights Defenders in Mexico,
Communication and Information for Women A.C. (CIMAC), and the National Center for Social
Communication (Cencos), strongly demand to the Mexico City authorities to safeguard the
integrity and security of Luisa Velzquez Herrera, womens rights activist, blogger, and
cofounder of the Lesboterrorists Collective, who has been harassed in social media with
death, torture, and sexual violence threats.

Since 2013, blogger and activist Luisa Velzquez Herrera, and her partner Nadia Rosso have
received threats and misogynistic and sexist messages through social networks, due to the defense
and activism that both realize in favor of women`s human rights. These messages loaded with sexual
connotations have increased in recent weeks reaching to the point death threats against Luisa
Velzquez. On May 16th, 2015, through forums and Facebook pages that promote hate against
lesbian women and feminists, Luisa Velzquez received a series of threatening messages with
references to her personal life, including death threats and threats of corrective rape, defamation,
slander, in addition to false accusations of pedophilia.

The harassment and threats against activist Luisa Velzquez Herrera, violate the right to freedom of
expression as it is recognized in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and
expression; this right Includes freedom to hold
opinions without interference and to seek, receive
and impart information and ideas through any media
and regardless of frontiers.
Through the publication of collective threatening messages in social networks, Article 16 of the third
chapter of the General Law of Access to a Life Free of Violence for Women in reference to violence in

the community is also violated; which states:

the individual or collective acts that violate women`s

fundamental rights and foster the denigration,
discrimination, marginalization or exclusion in the
public domain.

Therefore we demand that the authorities of Mexico City and the federal authorities undergo a prompt
and expeditious investigation to identify and punish the perpetrators; grant urgent protective measures
to Luisa Velzquez Herrera, Nadia Rosso and other members of the Lesboterrorists Collective as well
as grant integral reparations for the harm caused.

For the signatory organizations, it is critically important that the authorities also take preventive
measures to address the problem of gender discrimination against women defenders of women's
rights and freedom of expression; as is the case against the members of the Lesboterrorists
Collective. We demand that such acts do not remain in impunity; that the life and physical integrity of
the defenders are safeguarded and that immediate action is taken to avoid censorship and
recurrence.

Communication and Information for Women (CIMAC), non-profit civil society

organization and news agency with a gender perspective. Since 2005, Cimac has
registered and documented cases of violence against women journalists in order to
make visible the particularities faced by them and generate means of attention
appropriate to their social and professional status. Balderas 86, co. Centro, C.P
06050, Mxico D.F, Tel: +5255 5510 0085, www.cimac.org.mx

National Center for Social Communication (Cencos) was the first organization
to report assaults against journalists in Mexico, starting this activity in the midseventies. It seeks to promote freedom of expression and press freedom as an
individual right of journalists and as a collective right of society as a whole.
Medellin 33, col. Roma, CP 06700, Mxico D.F., Tel: +5255 5533
6475, www.cencos.org

International Network of Journalists with a Gender Perspective (RIPVG), composed of

female and male journalists across 35 countries.

National Network of Journalists (RNP Mxico), composed of female and male journalists
across all the federative entities of Mexico.

National Network of Human Rights Defenders in Mexico (RNDDHM), composed of 180

women`s human rights defenders from 99 different organizations, located in 22 Mexican
states and the Federal District.