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From Amanda, Long Beach, NY:

I would like to know what U.S. Corporations that have facilities in Juarez have done to improve safety for their workers while at work and in transit? What can Amnesty members do to influence authorities in Mexico and resident companies to act in good faith towards their residents and employees?

From AI volunteer Helga Arnadottir, who researched this question:

Dear Amanda,

Thank you for your questions.

Amnesty has information that some of the U.S. corporations that have facilities in Juarez have made an effort to improve the safety of their workers. Two companies, including TDK, the audiotape maker, have for example posted banners in their factories reading: "STOP THE VIOLENCE. To Better Our City, Let's Unite." And according to information on Alcoa's website, the company is striving to ensure employee safety by monitoring access in and out of the plant and trying to ensure pedestrian safety in and around the facility. Alcoa has also instituted a Bus Safety Program, works with the Ponte Viva city government in its safety orientation program and supports the Casa Amiga Centro de Crisis, which provides support and counseling for victims of violence and sexual abuse. However, much of the efforts undertaken by the maquiladoras are sexist in nature and rely on women curtailing their rights i.e. limiting their movement, association and clothing, thereby placing the burden for preventing crime on women, themselves.

But in many cases the foreign companies that operate maquiladoras in Ciudad Juarez have maintained silence on the murders in the area. For example, when the body of Claudia Ivette Gonzales, a female worker of Lear Corp., a Detroit-based auto-interior supplier, was found along with seven others on a cotton field across the street form the offices of the Association of Maquiladoras, Lear declined to publicly address her murder.

One of AI's recommendations is that the Mexican state must ensure that the maquilas meet their legal obligations to their employees, with special emphasis on the physical, sexual and mental well being of the female workers. One way for Amnesty members to influence authorities in Mexico is to write to them demanding justice for the women killed and that measures will be taken to ensure the safety of those who are most vulnerable in Ciudad Juarez http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=10384