Why Mexico is giving out half a million rape whistles to female subway riders

High-profile rape and harassment cases have spurred nationwide street protests, including marches of thousands of women in 40 cities this past spring and other demonstrations this week.

YouTube has been flooded with parodies of macho culture, and a group of women calling themselves “Hijas de Violencia,” or Daughters of Violence, have begun firing glitter guns at men who harass them on the street.

Nearly half of Mexican women have been subjected to rape, groping or other forms of sexual violence, according to the United Nations, which ranks Mexico among the most violent countries for women.

In recent years, there has been mounting outrage around the most notorious cases, including hundreds of unsolved killings of female factory workers in the border city of Juarez and a similar spate of killings in the state of Mexico.