New Mexico

Survey finds more than half of New Mexicans have experienced sexual violence • Source New Mexico

Published

1 year ago

January 8, 2025

Survey finds more than half of New Mexicans have experienced sexual violence • Source New Mexico

This story discusses sexual violence. For anyone in need of support, please call, text or chat the New Mexico Sexual Assault Helpline at 1-844-667-2457 or nmsahelp.org.

More than half of all New Mexicans have been sexually assaulted or raped at some point in their life, and 40% have been the victim of some kind of sexual violence while in New Mexico in the past year, according to a report published Wednesday.

Researchers from the Catherine Cutler Institute at the University of Southern Maine set out to understand how often people in New Mexico become victims of sexual violence, how often they report it and how often they seek help.

They surveyed 1,272 people between September 2023 and June 2024, and 54% of the people who responded said they had either been raped or sexually assaulted within their lifetime. “This rate translates to more than 1.1 million New Mexico residents,” the authors wrote.

The findings mark the first new New Mexico sexual violence crime victimization survey data in nearly two decades, the authors wrote. The last one was conducted between 2005 and 2006.

Researchers collected the data for the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, a nonprofit that provides technical assistance to more than 60 sexual assault service providers, sexual assault nurse examiners, child advocacy centers and community mental health centers.

In an interview with Source, Alexandria Taylor, the coalition’s executive director, said she thinks a lack of funding is the primary explanation for why it’s been so long since the last survey.

Taylor said the findings validate and quantify what she has known anecdotally for years: sexual assault is present in many people’s lives.

“All of our service providers, whether it’s our substance use treatment centers, our schools, our places of employment — even our places of incarceration — they’re all serving survivors of sexual assault,” she said.

Rachel Cox, the coalition’s deputy director of programs, told Source she was surprised the report gave her some hope they can actually address the prevalence of sexual assault, because it shows neither victims nor perpetrators of sexual violence are exceptional.

“We’re really talking about something that vicariously impacts everyone in New Mexico,” she said.

While counts of sexual violence victims commonly derived from service organizations and police reports are informative, they are also “certainly undercounts,” the report states.

Researchers asked New Mexicans about their experiences with four kinds of sexual violence: stalking, rape, sexual assault and domestic violence. Forty percent said they had been the victim of at least one of these crimes within the last 12 months while they were in New Mexico.

The research was funded by the Crime Victims Reparation Commission, a state agency that helps crime victims recover losses resulting from being victimized, and provides federal grants to other organizations serving them.

In a news release attached to the report, the coalition outlined its priorities for the upcoming legislative session to boost support for survivors and evidence-based prevention education.

The group plans to ask the Legislature to set aside $3 million to the Department of Health for prevention initiatives, $2 million to the Health Care Authority for medical and counseling needs, and $2 million to the Crime Victims Reparation Commission for providers and the New Mexico Sexual Assault Helpline.

The report also noted that 68% of victims of sexual assault and 75% of victims of rape did not seek support.

State law prohibits reparations to people victimized in prison

As researchers conducted the survey, they also sought to find disparities between demographic groups.

For example, people who have been incarcerated have the highest overall rate of victimization: 69%. They were also more likely to have been the victim of stalking than any other group.

Formerly incarcerated New Mexicans were also less likely to seek victim services, and more likely to have experienced “significant problems” with their job or schoolwork as a result of being victimized, the researchers found.

The group with the next highest rate of victimization was homeless people, at 68%.

Taylor said people who are most systemically impacted either have experienced sexual violence or are at greater risk of experiencing it. Cox said incarcerated and unhoused people can be some of the most invisible in society.

The findings are notable, in part, because New Mexico law does not allow reparations to people who were victimized while they were incarcerated. Taylor said it can’t be ignored that people who do harm and end up incarcerated have also themselves experienced harm and need healing.

“That’s where we have to use what we know from the individual level to impact things at the policy level,” she said.

Transgender or nonbinary people were more likely than cisgender people to have been raped, and Black respondents were more likely than other races to have been raped.

Perpetrators of rape were most commonly identified as casual acquaintances of the victims, at 34%; followed by a former partner or spouse, 30%; a current partner or spouse, 23%, and finally a stranger, 22%.

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New Mexico

Phoebe Bridgers Debuts New Music at First Show in Three Years

Published

5 hours ago

May 9, 2026

Press Room

Phoebe Bridgers Debuts New Music at First Show in Three Years

Phoebe Bridgers played her first solo show in three years on Friday night at The Liberty in Roswell, New Mexico. And if reports are to be believed, the singer’s next album/creative era could truly be out of this world.

The intimate, 13-song set at the 400-capacity venue served as Bridgers’ first solo performance since May 2023 when she opened for Taylor Swift at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. According to posts from several attendees, Bridgers described the evening (which strictly forbid all recording devices) as a “test” for her third album (and follow-up to 2020’s excellent Punisher).

In addition to hits like “Motion Sickness” and “Kyoto,” Bridgers debuted three to four new songs. One attendee described the new music, which included one track tentatively-titled “This is Gonna Kill Me,” as “very sad folk.” Harmonica arrangements were also featured prominently across the new music, provided by Christian Lee Hutson, who served as part of Bridgers’ band.

New Mexico

New Mexico DOJ data: Shell-casing tracking links shootings in Doña Ana County

Published

17 hours ago

May 9, 2026

Press Room

LAS CRUCES, N.M (KFOX14/CBS4) — A gun-tracking program that uses shell casings to connect shootings is already helping investigators link crimes in Doña Ana County, according to new numbers released by the New Mexico Department of Justice.

The effort is part of New Mexico’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center, which uses ballistic evidence such as shell casings to track guns believed to be used in multiple crimes. The program relies on the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, or NIBIN, a national database that compares ballistic evidence to determine whether shell casings may have come from the same weapon.

In April, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez described how the technology can connect cases across jurisdictions.

“There may be a shooting that occurs in Deming that’s actually connected to a crime gun that’s recovered in Las Cruces. We may find shell casings in Silver City that are connected to something that happened in T or C,” Torrez said.

Four months into the program, the Department of Justice said 210 bullet casings have been analyzed in Doña Ana County. Those casings helped link 32 incidents to 13 guns.

Jordan Salas reports on New Mexico DOJ data: Shell-casing tracking links shootings in Doña Ana County (Credit: KFOX14)

Statewide, more than 700 casings have been entered into the system, connecting 74 shootings to 31 guns.

One person reacting to the numbers said, “That’s crazy. Honestly, all those shootings all coming from that little amount of weapons is crazy.”

New Mexico officials say the system is designed to help law enforcement share information faster and build cases more efficiently.

Also in April, Doña Ana County Sheriff Kim Stewart pointed to a local case she said the technology helped resolve quickly.

“We resolved a homicide with a suspect arrest in four days. We know that those casings may lead to another 1 or 2 incidents in another city,” Stewart said.

Some residents said the technology alone will not solve gun violence, but they see it as a step forward. One person said, “I mean, growing up, like hearing gunshots in the distance. That wasn’t something crazy. I have stories of, like, friends who’ve gone to parties that had guns go off there. So, yeah, I would say guns are a problem there.”

Another person said, “I would think that it’s a good thing. I’m personally like, just anything to help the gun crimes, you know?”

KFOX14/CBS4 contacted Las Cruces police and the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office to ask how the leads are being used in local investigations, but we are awaiting a response.

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New Mexico

New Mexico AG seeks $3.7B from Meta over alleged ‘public nuisance’ claims

Published

1 day ago

May 8, 2026

Press Room

New Mexico AG seeks .7B from Meta over alleged ‘public nuisance’ claims

(Photo Credit: FotoField/Shutterstock)

Who: New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez brought a lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc.
Why: The state claims Meta misrepresented harms to minors and created a public nuisance through its social media platforms.
Where: The lawsuit is pending in New Mexico state court.
How to get help: Has social media impacted the mental health of you or your child? You may qualify to join a social media lawsuit against the platform.

New Mexico’s attorney general is asking a state court to order Meta to pay approximately $3.7 billion to address what the state describes as a “public nuisance” caused by the company’s social media platforms.

The request comes after a jury previously found Meta misrepresented the risks its platforms — including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — pose to underage users. The jury also imposed a $375 million penalty in the first phase of the trial.

The case has now moved into a second phase, where the court will determine what additional remedies, if any, Meta must provide.

According to the state, the proposed $3.712 billion abatement plan would fund a 15-year effort to address the alleged harms caused by Meta’s platforms. The plan includes funding for public education, school resources, law enforcement support and mental health services for children affected by issues, such as online bullying and sexual exploitation.

“This request recognizes the scope of the public nuisance that Meta has caused,” counsel for the state argued in court.

The lawsuit alleges Meta concealed or downplayed the extent of harmful activity on its platforms while publicly portraying them as safe for younger users.

Meta disputes liability, challenges proposed abatement plan

Meta denies the allegations and argues there is no legal basis for the sweeping relief requested by the state.

Attorneys for the company contend the proposed abatement plan does not directly address or stop the alleged harmful conduct and instead seeks compensation for downstream effects.

“What no court has ever allowed … is payment for the downstream effects,” Meta’s counsel argued, describing the request as “damages masquerading as something else.”

The court is expected to hear additional testimony during the second phase of the trial before determining whether to approve any form of injunctive relief or financial remedies.

In March, a California jury found Meta and Google liable for mental health harms suffered by plaintiff Kaley G.M., who became addicted to Instagram and YouTube as a child, awarding $6 million in damages, including $3 million in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages.

What do you think about the claims against Meta in this case? Let us know in the comments.

The state is represented by Raul Torrez of the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General and Donald Migliori, Linda Singer, Michael Pendell and David Ackerman of Motley Rice LLC.

The Meta lawsuit is New Mexico v. Meta Platforms Inc., et al., Case No. D-101-CV-2023-02838, in the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico.

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