This article explains the link between the serious violations of women’s human rights in Mexico and the territorial expansion and capacity of criminal organisations, which has exacerbated the traditional violence against women and has also been aimed at criminal action, using them as a means of income through trafficking in human beings and sexual slavery, among others. I analyse how a growing process of local collective action by women who have adapted the language of human rights as a framework for collective action and mobilisation redress has developed in this context, calling for justice and effective action by state authorities.