Government management with a gender perspective

Abstract

This research analyzes the relationship between urban infrastructure and the perception of security from a gender perspective, using Pachuca, Hidalgo, as a case study. Adopting a quantitative and descriptive approach, microdata from the National Survey on Victimization and Perception of Public Security (ENVIPE, 2025) were used to demonstrate how the lack of street lighting constitutes a structural barrier that violates women's right to public space. The findings reveal a qualitative disparity in victimization: the rate of sexual offenses against women (4,160) compared to men (546) shapes a geography of fear that fractures functional mobility. Furthermore, a budgetary efficiency analysis was conducted to compare reactive spending against preventive investment. The results expose a critical operational asymmetry: the monthly maintenance of a single patrol unit ($52,500 MXN) offers only 2 minutes of daily presence per street, whereas a luminaire guarantees 720 minutes of passive surveillance. It is concluded that the annual budget of a single police unit would allow for the permanent lighting of 4.2 km of roadways. Consequently, lighting modernization is positioned not only as a financial optimization but as a necessary political and social reparation measure to guarantee spaces where women can fully exercise their liberties within the urban environment.