Boyfriend puts ‘chastity lock’ on girlfriend

12 Oct CNN

A shocking case of abuse in Mexico. Police said a woman told them her boyfriend put a padlock on her pants, so she wouldn't be unfaithful to him.Police said she couldn't take it anymore. The 25-year-old woman, in excruciating pain after being unable to go to the restroom for several hours, went to police. A padlock prevented her from taking off her blue jeans.

Authorities said the woman lives in Zacatlame, an impoverished, rural community in the Mexican Gulf state of Veracruz.Police said the woman told them her lover had done this for years and that she was too afraid of him to grab some scissors and cut the jeans.Police arrested her 40-year-old boyfriend.The police commander told CNN the man produced a key and admitted locking her up.

“To the surprise of authorities, the woman refused to press charges once the man was detained,” Araceli Gonzalez, Executive Director of Equifonia said.

“The suspect was still taken into custody on a misdemeanor charge, but released a few hours later. The following day, the suspect signed a statement promising to never again use a padlock against his girlfriend or abuse her in any other way.

Gonzalez is a women rights activist in the state of Veracruz.She said both the community and authorities failed the woman.ÓShe was a victim of a crime for twelve years and neither the community nor authorities did anything about it,” she said.

“On the other hand, reaction was only lukewarm and insufficient when the incident was reported. The handling of this case didn't follow the law. Nobody acted against the aggressor.” State authorities said there's only so much they can do because the woman didn't press charges.Gonzalez said that attitude gives a green light to abusers.It seems like authorities think that women can simply renounce their rights.

It's like they're saying ‘if she doesn't recognize the problem, we, as authorities, can't do anything about it,'” she said.Gonzalez believes her case just one of thousands. Most others, she said, go unreported, with the victims suffering in silence.