Mexico enlists sex dolls in battle against harassment

Mexico has turned to inflatable sex dolls in an effort to educate its infamously macho men about women's rights and the wrongs of sexual harassment.

The open-mouthed plastic figures are the disturbing stars of an advertising campaign hitting television screens, radios and public billboards, showing the inflatable dolls being leered at or groped in the workplace.

The campaign slogan reads: "No woman should be treated like an object. Sexual harassment is not just demeaning, it's a crime."

Government officials welcomed the adverts and admitted that Mexico still has problems confronting its macho culture where discrimination, harassment and violence against women are commonplace.

Daniel Cabeza de Vaca, the Attorney General, said: "Violence against women is present in all classes of society, regardless of education levels, and is also present in the workplace and the family."

Vicente Fox, the President, said: "Our society still has a long way to go in overcoming holdovers from the past, eradicating prejudice and changing habits."

The President's support will be welcomed by anti-discrimination groups following comments he made earlier this month in which he appeared to describe women as "washing machines with legs". Legislators and women's groups were infuriated when Mr Fox joked: "Seventy-five per cent of the homes in Mexico have a washing machine, and not the kind with two hands or two legs."

Gilberto Rincon, the president of the National Committee to Prevent Discrimination, said: "Apart from whether it was intentional ... there are forms of expression that stereotype and create prejudices toward women, and that translate into a sexist language."

Attempts by various political parties to further the rights of women and clamp down on sexual discrimination in Mexico are being increasingly debated as possible vote-winning strategies for this summer's elections. This week, Andres Manual Lopez Obrador, the front-running leftist presidential candidate, promised to give at least half the posts in his cabinet to women if he wins in July.

Theadverts were thought up by the National Women's Institute (NWI), founded in 2001 to promote gender issues in Mexico. Launched for International Women's Day, the initiative will run to mid-April, according to Patricia Espinosa, the institute's president. The NWI recently sponsored a series of adverts featuring prominent female writers, actresses and academics made to appear as if they had been severely beaten, in an attempt to highlight domestic abuse. According to the Human Rights Commission in Mexico, 80 per cent of female victims of domestic violence have been beaten many times.

Human Rights Watch claimed this week local authorities prevent rape victims from gaining access to legal advice and safe abortions. Abortion is illegal in Mexico but it is permitted if a woman is raped. HRW also found a culture of "disrespect, suspicion and apathy" among public prosecutors and health workers.