Many Bermudian women worry about taking a walk alone after dark – but their fears pale beside the reality of some Mexican women who risk death just travelling to work.

Lucy Attride-Stirling, executive director of Amnesty International, spoke about the plight of some Mexican women at a Women's Resource Centre (WRC) Take Back The Night walk held recently.

Amnesty International aims to "conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated".

Founded in the United Kingdom in the 1960s it draws attention to human rights abuses. It collects petitions from concerned citizens and encourages letter writing to those in power to show that the rest of the world is paying attention.

Amnesty International Bermuda was invited to speak at the WRC walk to draw attention to the problem of violence against not just women in Bermuda, but also around the world. Mrs. Attride-Stirling collected more than 180 signatures from the walkers.

"Since 1993, there have been over 500 women dead in Chihuahua, Mexico, and the government doesn't seem concerned," Mrs. Attride-Stirling told The Royal Gazette.

"They are mostly women in the Northern state where they have American factories on the Mexican side. They produce everything on the Mexican side and then take it back to the United States to sell it.

"You see trucks coming in with raw materials, and going out with the finished product."

Eighty-five percent of the women killed are known as 'maciladoras' or machinists.

They are abducted, sexually abused and murdered mostly on their way to and from work.

And Mrs. Attride-Stirling said there had been little interest from the Mexican government in their plight because the women were from the poorest parts of society.

"The government didn't feel they were important enough to follow up with any investigation," said Mrs. Attride-Stirling.

Amnesty International became involved in 2003 when secretary general Irene Khan visited Mexico. Ms Khan found that there weren't any laws to protect the safety of the Chihuahua factory workers.

"She talked to the governor of Chihuahua," said Mrs. Attride-Stirling.

Partly through pressure from Amnesty, the proper laws were put into place in Mexico. Now Amnesty believes the problem is a lack of enforcement.

"They don't have funds or a strategic plan to carry out these laws," said Mrs. Attride-Stirling.

Amnesty International is now pressing the government to not only implement the law but also put it into effect.

"Amnesty International claims that there is a pattern to the deaths, but the government will not accept that," said Mrs. Attride-Stirling.

So the reasons for the women's' deaths are still largely unknown.

"Without proper investigation they can't really know what is the cause," said Mrs. Attride-Stirling. "The government has filed a few token investigations to keep the people quiet, not just quiet in terms of Amnesty International but also other human rights organisations working in Mexico."

Mrs. Attride-Stirling said one possibility was that the women were being killed because they refused to take part in drug dealing and prostitution.

Or perhaps they had told someone some key piece of information about drug dealing in the area.

"When you think 500 women, it can't be a random killing," said Mrs. Attride-Stirling.

The Mexican campaign is part of the larger project to help women called 'Stop Violence Against Women'. While most Amnesty campaigns last just six months this one is scheduled to go on for 15 months. It will end in 2010.

"This is the longest campaign that Amnesty has ever worked on," said Mrs. Attride-Stirling.

In armed conflicts women are considered war trophies and experience rape and abductions. They are always the first casualties."

The campaign tries to help women around the world.

For example, a project in the Middle East helps female migrant workers. Many of them are very young and experience overwork and sexual abuse.

"Sometimes the parents don't have any means of supporting their daughters so they put them out to work at a very young age," said Mrs. Attride-Stirling.

Another part of the overall campaign encourages women to help refugees.

Mrs. Attride-Stirling is herself from Mexico. She was born in the state of Puebla, but grew up in Acapulco.

She came to Bermuda as a newlywed and has been here since 1961. She became involved in Amnesty International Bermuda after reading a pamphlet.

"I read about Amnesty and thought this is something I would like to do," she said.

"So I joined 23 years ago, and I have been with them ever since. I was president for nine years, but I took over as executive director when I retired."

She said that Amnesty members do not work on problems in their own countries.

"It is for reasons of possible bias, and also for safety," she said. "Amnesty in many places is very dangerous to work with."

Amnesty International members mostly write letters to various government officials about human rights violations.

"If they receive 200 letters on the same issue it might make them stand up and pay attention," said Mrs. Attride-Stirling.

"It took a long time in Mexico, but eventually we made the government at least enact the law to protect women. We have to keep the pressure on."

She said many times Amnesty International workers have seen people who have been wrongfully imprisoned, for example, given better prison conditions, given legal representation or medical care, or even set free.

"Amnesty International does work," said Mrs. Attride-Stirling. "We do get letters afterward thanking us for our work."

The next Amnesty International Bermuda event will be on International Children's Day on November 20. The details have yet to be released.

To sign the Mexican petition or for more information about Amnesty International Bermuda telephone 296 3249 or email: aibda@logic.bm.