Lydia María Cacho Ribeiro (born 12 April 1963) is a Mexican journalist, feminist, and human rights activist. Described by Amnesty International as "perhaps Mexico's most famous investigative journalist and

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

advocate", Cacho's reporting focuses on violence against and

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

of women and children. Her book ''Los Demonios del Edén'' (in English: ''The Demons of Eden'') (2004) created a nationwide

scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

by alleging that several prominent businessmen had conspired to protect a

pedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty ...

ring. In 2006, a tape emerged of a conversation between businessman Kamel Nacif Borge and Mario Plutarco Marín Torres, governor of Puebla, in which they conspired to have Cacho beaten and

raped Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or agai ...

for her reporting. Marín Torres was arrested for the alleged torture on 3 February 2021. Cacho is the winner of numerous international awards for her journalism, including the Civil Courage Prize, the Wallenberg Medal, and the Olof Palme Prize. In 2010, she was named a World Press Freedom Hero of the

International Press Institute International Press Institute (IPI) is a global organisation dedicated to the promotion and protection of press freedom and the improvement of journalism practices. The institution was founded by 34 editors from 15 countries at Columbia University ...

Background

Lydia Cacho Ribeiro was born in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

to a mother of French-Portuguese origin who moved from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

to Mexico during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and a Mexican engineer father. Cacho attributed her refusal to compromise to her mother, who was shocked by what she called Mexicans' willingness to "negotiate their dignity in exchange for apparent freedom". Her mother also taught her social awareness by taking Cacho along for grassroots community projects into poor neighborhoods. Cacho credits her father with teaching her discipline and toughness. Cacho lived briefly in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

as a young woman, studying at the Sorbonne and working as a maid. At age 23, she nearly died from kidney failure. After her recovery, she began working for

Cancún Cancún ( ), often Cancun in English (without the accent; or ) is a city in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat ...

newspapers, writing arts and entertainment stories. However, guided by her mother's feminism, Cacho soon began writing about violence against women. Shortly afterwards, in 1999, she was assaulted and raped by a man in a

bus station A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is ...

bathroom who broke several of her bones. Cacho believes that the attack was a retaliation for her investigations. She continued her investigations, however, and the following year founded a shelter for battered women.

''Los Demonios del Edén''

In 2003, Cacho wrote articles on the sexual abuse of minors for the newspaper '' Por Esto'' including a note on a girl abused by a local hotel owner, Jean Succar Kuri. Feeling that the local police had failed to act on the girl's complaint, the following year, Cacho published the book ''Los Demonios del Edén'' (in English: " ''Demons of Eden''") in which she accuses Kuri of being involved in a ring of child pornography and prostitution, based on official statements from his alleged victims and even a video of him (filmed with hidden camera). The book also mentions important politicians

Emilio Gamboa Patrón Emilio Antonio Gamboa Patrón (born 23 August 1950) is a Mexican politician affiliated with the PRI. He was Senator during the 2000–2003 and 2003–2006 Legislatures and deputy during the LX Legislature and the LXII Legislature of the Mexica ...

and Miguel Ángel Yunes as involved, and accuses Kamel Nacif Borge, a Puebla businessman, of protecting Succar Kuri. After the book's release, Cacho was arrested in Cancún by Puebla police and driven back to Puebla, 900 miles away. Cacho has stated that the arresting officers verbally abused her and hinted there was a plan to rape her. She was then imprisoned for a short time on defamation charges before being released on bail. On 14 February 2006, several telephone conversations between Nacif Borge and Mario Marín, governor of the state of Puebla, were revealed by the

daily ''

La Jornada ''La Jornada'' (''The Working Day'') is one of Mexico City's leading daily newspapers. It was established in 1984 by Carlos Payán Velver. The current editor ''(directora general)'' is Carmen Lira Saade. ''La Jornada'' has presence in eight sta ...

''. In these conversations, before Cacho's arrest, Marín and Nacif Borge discussed putting Cacho in jail as a favour, and having her beaten and abused while in jail to silence her. The recording sparked widespread calls for Marín to be impeached. Cacho took the case of her arrest to the Supreme Court, becoming the first woman in Mexico's history to testify there. On 29 November 2007, the Court ruled 6 to 4 that Marín had no case to answer in Cacho's arrest, jailing and harassment, a case that ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' described as "a setback for journalistic freedom in Mexico". The

United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

advised her to leave the country, recommended that she seek political asylum in another country, and offered her legal assistance and assistance in gaining access to international courts. While being held, Cacho was granted the ''Premio Francisco Ojeda al Valor Periodístico'' ( Francisco Ojeda Award for Journalistic Courage). In May 2008, a few days before she was scheduled to testify at Kuri's trial, Cacho was almost killed when the lug nuts on one of her car's wheels were loosened.

Reporting on Femicides in Ciudad Juárez

In 2006, Cacho reported on the hundreds of female homicides in Ciudad Juárez. In 2020, Cacho was the host and executive producer of a bilingual podcast produced by Imperative Entertainment and Blue Guitar about the femicide in Juárez. The podcast was released in English a
The Red Note
and in Spanish a
La Nota Roja
A documentary on the same topic, entitled "Flowers of the Desert: Stories from the Red Note," is scheduled to be released by Imperative Entertainment in 2021.

Awards and honors

In 2007, Lydia Cacho received the Amnesty International Ginetta Sagan Award for Women and Children's Rights, the IWMF (International Women's Media Foundation) Courage in Journalism Award, and the Oxfam Novib/PEN Award. The following year, she received the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. In 2009, Cacho was awarded the Wallenberg Medal from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

for her work to bring to public attention to the corruption that shields criminals who exploit women and children. Cacho was a recipient of the PEN/Pinter Prize as an International Writer of Courage in 2010, which goes to writers persecuted for their beliefs. She was also named a World Press Freedom Hero of the

. A year later, Cacho received The International

Hrant Dink Hrant Dink ( hy, Հրանդ Տինք; Western ; 15 September 1954 – 19 January 2007) was a Turkish-Armenian intellectual, editor-in-chief of ''Agos'', journalist and columnist. As editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspa ...

Award, presented to people who work for a world free of discrimination, racism and violence, take personal risks for their ideals, use the language of peace and by doing so, inspire and encourage others. She also won the Civil Courage Prize of The Train Foundation, which she shared with Triveni Acharya for efforts against " sex trafficking, domestic violence and child pornography", and the Olof Palme Prize together with Roberto Saviano. In 2017, Cacho was awarded the Distinguished Leadership Award for the Defense of Human Rights by the Inter-American Dialogue.

Publications

As of 2018, Lydia Cacho has written twelve books, ranging from poetry to fiction, and including a Manual to prevent child abuse, essays on gender issues and love, and her international best sellers about Sex trafficking, Human

Slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

and the relationship between child pornography and child sexual abuse like ''Slavery Inc.: The Untold Story of International Sex Trafficking'', published in the U.K. Her books have been translated into French, English, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, German, Croatian, Swedish, and Turkish. * 2003, '' Muérdele al corazón / Bite the heart '', DEMAC, Spanish, * 2007, '' Esta boca es mía…y tuya también / This mouth is mine… and Yours too'' '', Planeta Mexicana, Spanish, * 2009, '' Con mi hij@ NO / With my child NO '', Debolsillo , Spanish, * 2010, '' Esclavas del Poder: Trata sexual / Slaves Of Power '', Grijalbo Mondadori, Spanish, * 2010, '' Los demonios del Edén / The Demons of Eden '', Debolsillo, Spanish, * 2013, '' El silencio es nuestro / The silence is ours '', Artes de México y del Mundo, Spanish, * 2014, '' Slavery Inc.: The Untold Story of International Sex Trafficking '',

Soft Skull Press Counterpoint LLC was a publishing company distributed by Perseus Books Group launched in 2007. It was formed from the consolidation of three presses: Perseus' Counterpoint Press, Avalon Publishing Group's Shoemaker & Hoard and the independent S ...

, English, * 2015, '' En busca de Kayla / In search of Kayla '', Lydia Cacho y Patricio Betteo, Editorial Sexto Piso, ilustrado, Spanish, * 2016, '' Infamy '', Soft Skull Press, English, * 2016, '' La ira de México / The wrath of Mexico '', Editorial Debate, Spanish, * 2017, '' The sorrows of Mexico '', Maclehose Press, English, * 2017, '' Ciberespías al rescate: en busca de Sam / Cyberspies to the rescue: In search of Sam '', Spanish,

References

External links

Lydia Cacho's blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cacho, Lydia 1963 births Living people People from Mexico City Mexican feminist writers Mexican women writers Mexican people of Portuguese descent Mexican people of French descent Mexican human rights activists Women human rights activists Mexican women journalists Oxfam Novib/PEN Award winners