María Fernanda Sánchez, reporting without revictimizing

Her name was María Fernanda Sánchez, she was 24 years old and a few months ago she had moved to live in Berlin to study for a master’s degree after finishing her degree in Mexico. Her life passed with apparent normality until on July 22, her friends and family raised the alarm when they could not locate her. Maffy, as they affectionately knew her, had disappeared.

This Saturday, the family confirmed that the young woman’s body was found in a canal in the capital, near a bridge in the Adlershof district, as announced by the German authorities. Although the police have indicated in the few updates that they have given that “no third party guilt can be assumed”, the circumstances in which the girl’s death occurred have not yet been clarified and it would be reckless, reckless and revictimizing to feed any speculation outside the official version. For example, the police statement that said that there were indications that the young woman was “under the influence of an exceptional psychological situation.” Or the messages that as a result of that some Mexican officials slipped about the mental health of the girl.

The discovery of the student’s body has given rise to a new search, this time related to discovering the reasons for what happened to her, a question that the authorities must answer in the coming days when the results of the autopsy are known. It has also put on the table a pending issue for the Mexican authorities in Europe: mental health care.

Writing about a death, murder or a femicide is a journalistic challenge. On the one hand, rigorous and timely information has to help the reader understand what happened, but not everything goes when it comes to reporting. Above all, there must be ethics and respect for the dignity of the victim. Also for their family and friends who will read the most painful news of their lives. There are many ways to violate a woman and mistreat her dignity through the press, in Mexico we know it well. More when talking about the causes of her death.

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