39 violence against women in Ciudad Juárez “has its roots in concepts of the inferiority and subordination of women.”119 In turn, CEDAW stressed that gender-based violence, including the murders, kidnappings, disappearances and the domestic violence “are not isolated, sporadic or episodic cases of violence; rather they represent a structural situation and a social and cultural phenomenon deeply rooted in customs and mindsets” and that these situations of violence are founded “in a culture of violence and discrimination.”120 134. The United Nations Rapporteur on violence against women explained that the violence against women in Mexico can only be understood in the context of “socially entrenched gender inequality.” The Rapporteur referred to “forces of change [that] challenge the very basis of the machismo” including the incorporation of women into the workforce, which gives them economic independence and offers new opportunities for education and training. While ultimately empowering women to overcome structural discrimination, these factors may exacerbate violence and hardship in the short-run. The inability of men to fulfill traditional machista roles as providers causes family abandonment, unstable relationships or alcoholism, which in turn may increase the risk of violence. Even cases of rape and murder, may be understood as desperate attempts to uphold discriminatory norms that are outpaced by changing socio-economic conditions and the advance of human rights.121 135. The Ciudad Juárez Commission pointed out that the emphasis placed by the Special Prosecutor’s Office on domestic violence and on the significant changes in the social structure as reasons for sex crimes, did not take into account “the elements of the violence that are related to gender-based discrimination that specifically affects women,” and this “merges gender-based violence with social violence, without examining how it specifically affects women.”122 136. The Commission’s report stressed the sexual characteristics of the murders and indicated that “[w]hile the extent of these aspects of the problem is unclear, evidence in certain cases suggests links to prostitution or trafficking for sexual exploitation,” and that “both can involve situations of coercion and abuse of women working in or forced to participate in the sex trade.”123 1.6. Regarding the alleged femicide 137. The Commission did not classify the facts that occurred in Ciudad Juárez as femicide. 138. The representatives indicated that “[t]he murders and disappearances of girls and women in Ciudad Juárez are the most evil expression of misogynous violence”; hence this type of violence has been considered femicide. They explained that femicide consists in “an extreme form of violence against women; the murder of girls and women merely because of their gender in a society that subordinates them,” which involves “a combination of factors, including cultural, economic and political elements.” 119 IACHR, The Situation of the Rights of Women in Ciudad Juárez, supra note 64, folio 1766 (citing the letter of the Secretary of Government of Chihuahua to the Special Rapporteur of February 11, 2002). 120 Cf. Report on Mexico produced by CEDAW, supra note 64, folios 1937 and 1949. 121 Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, supra note 64, folios 2001 and 2002. 122 Comisión para Prevenir y Erradicar la Violencia contra las Mujeres en Ciudad Juárez, Primer Informe de Gestión, supra note 67, folio 9074. 123 IACHR, The Situation of the Rights of Women in Ciudad Juárez, supra note 64, folios 1748 and 1750 (citing the letter of the Secretary of Government of Chihuahua to the Special Rapporteur of February 11, 2002).