Ciudad Juárez operates as a necropolis where femicide legislation coexists with reductionist and patriarchal approaches to gender violence. The victims of killings and disappearances are presented as prostitutes, and those who investigate are seen to be staining the city's good name. Mexico's lax justice system and the free-trade zones of the maquiladora industry provide the enabling context, writes María Encarnación López (London Metropolitan University)
