Nov. 8, 2025 7 AM PT

To the editor: After she was groped in public, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said, “If they do this to the president, what must happen to all the young women in the country?” Indeed, and it’s not just in Mexico and it’s not just young women; it’s girls and older women internationally, too (“Mexico’s president was groped on the street. Now she’s waging a war against rampant sexual harassment,” Nov. 5).

What needs to happen is a multi-pronged approach to ending this kind of violence globally. Prevention programs should be delivered to all boys in grade school through high school, as well as enforcing existing laws against the perpetrators.

The White Ribbon Campaign, developed in Canada, provides a framework for teaching boys about supporting women’s and girls’ rights, and should be part of the school curriculum both here and in Mexico.

MIA, Mujeres Iniciando en Las Americas is a California-based nonprofit organization that provides education based on the White Ribbon Campaign. It reaches out to elementary schools, middle schools and universities in Guatemala to help stem the tide of sexual violence against women there. These are the kinds of programs we need to see expand across Mexico, the U.S. and around the world.

Christopher Hill, Costa Mesa

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To the editor: It is terrifying to think that even the most powerful woman in Mexico would experience what many women face in their lives in dealing with sexual harassment. You would think that that presence of president-level security and witnesses would prevent any unwanted sexual advances.

The reality is that women experience sexual harassment and assault all the time. How is it that no woman is exempt from the risk of being sexually harassed?

More policies need to be enacted that place greater repercussions on the perpetrators of sexual harassment. If aggressors see a potential risk, they will be more inclined to stop. Plus, greater criminalization of sexual harassment will take away from the normalization of the behavior.

Focusing on shifting the behavior of the aggressor, rather than finding ways for women to defend themselves, will help establish new norms for a better and safer future.

Ariana Mora, San Lorenzo