Between January 1 and August 31, 2025, the Chiapas State Attorney General’s Office (FGE) opened 195 investigation files in Tuxtla Gutiérrez related to crimes against the family. Of these, 146 correspond specifically to the crime of domestic violence, representing 74.87% of the total recorded in the capital of Chiapas.
These figures confirm Tuxtla Gutiérrez as the city with the highest incidence of this type of crime in the state, accounting for 26.55% of the total cases in Chiapas, followed by Tapachula with 59 reports and San Cristóbal de las Casas with 54.
This phenomenon is not isolated: throughout Chiapas, 550 investigation files for domestic violence were recorded during the same period, in addition to 6,645 emergency calls related to violence against women during the first seven months of the year. These data reflect that the problem is concentrated in families, and that reports are not limited to a specific region, although in Tuxtla Gutiérrez it is more relevant due to the high number of cases.
Within the capital, the neighborhoods with the highest number of reports are Las Granjas, Albania Alta, Cruz con Casitas, and Patria Nueva, considered hot spots due to the recurrence of reports. The FGE has implemented prevention activities in these areas and has extended actions to other sectors such as Terán and Kilómetro 4, seeking to reach as many urban communities as possible.
Regarding this topic, Olga Paolina Gloria Bonifaz, Coordinator of Prevention and Citizen Participation at the Attorney General’s Office, explained that preventive work focuses on close contact with citizens. She noted that, although statistics specify the areas with the highest incidence, the preventive area has identified family conflicts that lead to violence, as well as school dropouts linked to mental health problems, as the main factors requiring attention. These situations are addressed by psychologists and specialists who accompany the community outreach sessions.
Gloria Bonifaz admitted that domestic violence is difficult to eradicate due to cultural factors that normalize it within homes. However, she explained that one of the pillars of the work is to make visible that acts of physical or psychological abuse constitute crimes, not simply internal problems. “Often, people don’t know they are experiencing a situation that the law classifies as a crime. What we seek is for them to recognize these patterns and be encouraged to report,” she noted.
As part of the strategies, the Attorney General’s Office has deployed legal caravans that allow residents to receive legal and psychological advice, and in some cases, to file complaints immediately. These actions seek to reduce mistrust between the population and institutions, since the fear of reporting or the lack of information often prevents cases from reaching the authorities.
Statistics show that domestic violence in Chiapas primarily affects women and minors, who are the main victims within the home. The Attorney General’s Office has identified a consistent pattern of reports of physical assault, psychological abuse, and gender-based violence. Bonifaz warned that homes have become the primary setting for violence and that, in many cases, this dynamic is a prelude to minors becoming involved in other crimes, either as victims or as part of criminal networks.
In Tuxtla Gutiérrez, the problem is also reflected in the volume of emergency calls. Although not all of them result in investigation files, reports show a gap between the violence that is formally reported and that which remains in the private sphere. This shows that a portion of the population still faces obstacles in bringing cases before the Attorney General’s Office.
The situation requires analyzing not only the institutional response but also the social conditions that allow these crimes to recur in different parts of the city. Urban growth, population concentration in peripheral neighborhoods, and the lack of strong community networks are factors that foster vulnerability in households. Furthermore, in many cases, domestic violence is linked to alcohol and drug use, as well as economic hardship.
Meanwhile, the figures maintain that Tuxtla Gutiérrez ranks first in the state in reports of domestic violence. Of the 550 cases opened in Chiapas, more than a quarter are concentrated in the capital. Tapachula and San Cristóbal de las Casas appear as the municipalities with the highest number of cases after Tuxtla, although with a lower proportion. This trend demonstrates that the problem affects different regions of the state, although with a greater concentration in urban centers.
The Attorney General’s Office insists that combating these crimes cannot depend solely on reporting, but requires preventive actions. Therefore, in addition to legal and psychological caravans, prevention festivals have been held in specific neighborhoods. According to Gloria Bonifaz, the intention is to gradually cover all neighborhoods and urban communities in Tuxtla Gutiérrez and extend these activities to other municipalities in Chiapas.
For its part, the 50+1 Chiapas collective has emphasized that the main challenge is to break the normalization of domestic violence. Although statistics show an increase in reports, this does not necessarily reflect a real increase in violence; rather, more people are daring to report what is happening in their family environment. However, the numbers of emergency calls and investigation files show that there is still a significant gap between the violence experienced and the violence reported to authorities.
In conclusion, crimes against the family, and in particular domestic violence, have established themselves as the main criminal problem in Tuxtla Gutiérrez. The city has the highest number of cases in the state, and outlying neighborhoods report the highest incidence rates. Prevention efforts aim to make it easier for the population to report the virus and access support services, but the phenomenon continues to affect thousands of homes.
Source: oem
