Addressing Physical and Non-Physical Abuse Against Mexican Medical Practitioners During the COVID-19 Pandemic
By Gloria Monroy
Since the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), countries around the world have started to impose health measures to combat the spread of the disease by implementing social-distancing measures and temporary lockdown orders. In the meantime, doctors, nurses and other medical practitioners are on the front lines trying to cure those who are infected. However, in Mexico, nurses and doctors have been physically[i] and non-physically abused[ii] because they are thought as being 'carriers of the coronavirus disease’ who pose a threat to their patients. People are constantly being misinformed on social media when it comes to information surrounding COVID-19. The increased anxiety within the Mexican population, caused by the dissemination of ‘fake news,’ has instilled life-threatening behavior towards medical practitioners. There are common sense policy steps that the Mexican government and NGOs should take to improve their communication with the Mexican citizenry.
Attacks Against Medical Practitioners
The fear of getting a deadly virus has caused people to act irrationally. In Mexico, people have discriminated against medical personnel because they are seen as being ‘responsible actors for spreading coronavirus.' Between March 19th and April 30th, the National Council to Prevent Discrimination (CONAPRED) received 58 complaints from medical practitioners who have been discriminated against by people who are afraid of getting infected. In a general overview, CONAPRED stated that as of April 30th, they received 231 complaints from the Mexican population due to discriminatory acts in relation to COVID-19.
In addition to discrimination, medical personnel have been physically assaulted. In the first week of April, a female nurse from the state of Jalisco was attacked with bleach and water and reported that there were an additional five attacks against her personnel. Similarly, in the state of Sinaloa, one female nurse was attacked with bleach by an unknown subject after a long workday. Just recently, a Red Cross volunteer from Sonora was assaulted and bathed in bleach by two unknown subjects. In the state of San Luis Potosi, a group of people physically and verbally assaulted a female nurse which caused her two fractures. These types of attacks against medical practitioners have been ongoing in almost all of the Mexican states.
Medical personnel have also been targeted by the Mexican population in non-physical forms. Aside from being thrown hot coffee, a nurse from Guanajuato was verbally threatened by an unknown man who warned her that he would kill her the next time he would see her. In Mexico City, medical personnel were physically assaulted and threatened to be killed by several family members whose relative died from COVID-19. Different from other cases where medical personnel are threatened to be killed, the director of the La Perla de Nezhualcóyotl General Hospital informed their medical personnel that they “have the obligation and the professional, legal and social duty” of continuing to work. Otherwise, those who refuse to work will obtain criminal penalties.
Last but not least, members of Mexican drug cartels made threats through social media to kill medical staff members if members of their family or drug cartels die from COVID-19. A member from a Guerrero drug cartel made a comment on a Facebook post stating the following:
“Look doctors, for your information, I know that you all have a goal and that you were all paid to aid infected people who come to the hospital or the IMSS (Mexican Social Security Institute) and later you kill them yourselves. Just to let you know ahead of time, for every member of my family that you kill, I will kill 10 of you all, so you already know.” [English translation]
All the different accounts from victims have led to the conclusion that people have become anxious and misinformed about COVID-19 disease and its’ health implications.
Misinformation in Times of a Global Pandemic
The increasing amount of false information on the Internet about COVID-19 has affected individuals around the world. Social media users have ignored verified information provided by the government and international organizations due to an increase in government distrust. Instead people believe alternative information shared by unknown and unverified sources and have spread this false information.
In Mexico, social media users have seen mass circulation of conspiracy theories of COVID-19’s origins, motives and bogus cures. Even though the origins of the coronavirus remain unclear by experts, people have blamed the 5G network update as a cause factor. Believers of this conspiracy theory have explained that the virus has traveled through an electromagnetic space. When it comes to finding a presumed purpose for the coronavirus, conspiracy believers have argued that the COVID-19 outbreak was intended to control the global population. Anti-vaccine conspiracists believe that Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, wants to vaccine everyone in the world to implant digital microchips to track and control the global population. Misinformed people have read that drinking bleach is a solution that ‘cures or prevents’ COVID-19 virus. Since they believe bleach is going to eliminate the coronavirus, misinformed people carry out assaults against healthcare workers because they think that this is an appropriate way to ‘clean’ a person.
Reaction from the Mexican Government and NGOs
Main political state actors surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have called out for solidarity for medical personnel. The Mexican president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) stated that violence perpetrated against medical personnel is discriminatory and that those who discriminate and threaten them should stop. The Undersecretary of Prevention and Health Promotion, Hugo López-Gatell also called for the protection of healthcare workers at the State and societal level. In response to the case of La Perla de Nezhualcóyotl General Hospital, the Secretary of Board of Directors from the Chamber of Deputies, Mónica Bautista Rodríguez asked the Governor of the State of Mexico, Alfredo del Mazo and the Secretary of Health to “respect, support and protect medical practitioners, in addition to guaranteeing their human and labor rights and to stop harassing, intimidating or threatening them.”
The Mexican government has considered to punish perpetrators who commit wrongdoings against medical personnel. On April 1st, CONAPRED released a bulletin warning the Mexican population that if individuals threaten to destroy clinics or hospitals, it will be considered as a crime since it denies access to medical assistance for those who are seeking emergency assistance. In the same month, the parliamentary group from the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), presented an initiative to punish up to 10 years of jail time and a fine of MXN $173,000 whoever affects the physical, mental or emotional integrity of medical personnel. At the local level, the Congress of Oaxaca reformed local penal code to punish individuals that assault medical personnel with 6 year’s jail time since it violates the integrity of doctors and nurses.
In part from government agencies, they are raising awareness to the general public that the doctors should be respected because they are working hard to limit the spread of coronavirus. Through social media sites, the IMSS has published a variety of posts (including Image 1) to raise awareness that medical personnel are taking care of individuals who are infected. In addition, it advises people that they should support their medical personnel by staying home to limit the spread of COVID-19 disease. This message is brought to the Mexican population with the hashtag #QuédateEnCasa (#StayAtHome).
NGOs, on the other hand, have campaigned to raise awareness of discrimination, assault and stigmatization that medical practitioners carry with them. The health organization, Doctors Without Borders, launched a campaign #FuerzaEquipoMédico in order to mitigate the stigmatization that medical personnel encounter during this pandemic. Loïc Jaeger, the DSF Director in Mexico and Central America stated the phenomenon of discriminating and assaulting medical personnel has been seen in previous viral outbreaks. He asserts that since the virus is invisible, people who are afraid try to console themselves by finding a target to blame- in this case, doctors and nurses. Seeing that there are mediations carried out by the Mexican government and NGOs, it is appropriate to reconsider the following recommendations.
Next Steps
The Mexican federal government must take action by reforming its’ nationwide penal code to protect healthcare workers from any type of abuse that may threaten their lives. This penal code shall punish perpetrators with prison time. Since there is a lack of trust in the Mexican government, NGOs must come up with different approaches to inform people at grassroots level in order to counter false information about fake cures for COVID-19. Instead of using the media as a way of communication, one approach to reach out to people is by talking to people in person in a safely manner. In 2019, 34.7% of Mexicans who were 55 or older reported that they used the Internet. With that said, the Mexican government can partner with an NGO such as Doctors Without Borders to reach out to those who are disconnected from the social media or the Internet. As a result, they can reach out to them via information booths in a safely manner to inform them about health measures and the importance of the medical personnel’s role. Otherwise, if medical practitioners continue to be assaulted or killed because of the stigma that they carry, who else will treat the infected Mexican population?
[i] According to a report by the United Kingdom’s National Audit Office, physical violence in the workplace (especially when it comes to violence against health-care workers) constitutes of a series of abuses such as assault that causes death, assault causing serious physical injury that requires hospital care, minor injuries that require first-aid, physical attacks (kicking, biting and punching), use of weapons and/or missiles and sexual assault.
[ii] According to a report by the United Kingdom’s National Audit Office, non-physical violence in the workplace (especially when it comes to violence against health-care workers) constitutes of a series of abuses such as verbal abuse (swearing, shouting, name-calling and insults), racial or sexual harassment, threats (with or without weapons), physical posturing and/or threatening gestures, abusive calls or letters, bullying or deliberate silence.
Gloria Abril Monroy is a senior undergraduate student from Tijuana, Mexico who intends to major in international relations and minor in anthropology at American University in Washington, D.C. Her academic interests concern issues in the areas of economic development, human rights, migration and cultural anthropology in Latin America.
Covid-19 is published by Prachatai and is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
