Mexican woman who survived acid attack calls on others to speak out without fear

Mexican saxophonist Maria Elena Rios, who was attacked last year with acid that burned her face and body, looks on during an interview with Reuters in Mexico City, Mexico March 6, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Six months after an acid attack in Mexico, Maria Elena Rios is now speaking out in hopes officials will find and punish her aggressor. Talking through a bandage covering the burns on her face, she has a message for other women: Do not live in fear.

Rios, who believes her ex-boyfriend ordered two men to splash her body with acid last September, is one of many women to have suffered abuse by their romantic partners in Mexico, where femicides have risen 137% in the last five years.