The psychological toll of Mexico's drugs wars

Friday 21 September 2012, 13:20

Stuart Hughes

is a BBC World Affairs producer. Twitter: @stuartdhughes

“Mexico's El Norte newspaper attacked for the third time this month.”

“Three Mexican news outlets targeted in one day.”

“Crime journalist reported missing in Veracruz.”

The headlines from reports published in recent weeks by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) give a glimpse into the dangers faced daily by reporters working in Mexico. This map gives details of 13 Mexican journalists who have disappeared since 2003.

The options open to Mexican journalists wanting to expose drugs traffickers, violent criminals and corrupt officials are summed up in the title of a 2010 CPJ report: Silence or Death.

Anthony Feinstein

A new study by a Canadian psychiatrist highlights the toll that Mexico’s drugs-related violence appears to be taking on the mental and emotional health of the country’s journalists. Writing in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, Anthony Feinstein of the University of Toronto says drugs cartels have recognised the power of the media to inform society and are deliberately targeting the Fourth Estate.

Dr Feinstein has studied the effect of conflict on journalists’ mental health for more than a decade. In a landmark study he found that more than a quarter of the war reporters he interviewed suffered symptoms of post-traumatic stress - a statistic that put them on a par with combat veterans.

In his latest research drawn from interviews with more than 100 Mexican journalists, Dr Feinstein found that:

A quarter of those questioned had stopped working on drugs-related stories because of intimidation or personal safety fears
Almost half knew a colleague who had been murdered by the drugs cartels
More than half of those reporting drugs-related news had been threatened
A substantial percentage of Mexican journalists showed evidence of psychological distress in the form of symptoms such as intrusive thoughts, avoidant behaviour, hyper-arousal and depression.

Dr Feinstein says levels of psychological injury among journalists in Mexico seem to be consistent with other groups of media workers who cover war - but with one fundamental difference. “Unlike the war group, who travel in and out of danger,” he says, “most Mexican journalists… both live and work in areas where violence is endemic.

“There is no respite from danger, short of backing off from covering drugs-related news, and even this does not guarantee the journalists immunity from the violence that surrounds them in areas where drugs cartels hold sway.”

Media watchdog groups are demanding that the Mexican authorities do more to prosecute those responsible for violence against journalists; most are never brought to justice.

In its latest annual report, the CPJ claimed that almost 50 media workers have been killed or have disappeared since President Felipe Calderon took office at the end of 2006.

Dr Feinstein’s research, which he admits is still limited and should be interpreted with caution, suggests the number of journalists suffering psychological injuries as a result of Mexico’s drugs wars is far higher.