MSF Provides Specialized Trauma Care to Violence Survivors in Mexico

Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières, or MSF) announced on October 20 that its Comprehensive Care Center (CAI) in Mexico City has supported 1,205 patients since 2016, providing specialized care for migrants, refugees, and displaced individuals who have experienced extreme violence, torture, kidnapping, and sexual assault.

According to the humanitarian organization, the center has delivered more than 23,200 specialized consultations since its establishment. Between 2017 and 2026, MSF treated 156 individuals for torture, 137 for kidnapping, and 241 for sexual violence. During the first seven months of 2026 alone, the facility identified 71 new survivors of torture and ill-treatment and carried out more than 2,000 consultations.

MSF reported that many individuals fleeing gang recruitment, persecution, and systemic rights abuses in their countries of origin continue to face severe dangers along the migration corridor in Mexico. These risks include physical assault, sexual abuse, extortion, and kidnapping, which often result in prolonged physiological and psychological trauma.

Gladys Vásquez, MSF mental health manager, noted that extreme trauma frequently leaves the nervous system in a continuous state of high alert, causing symptoms such as chronic insomnia, night terrors, muscle tension, hypervigilance, and physical exhaustion long after the physical threat has ended. Clinical psychologist Dora Morales explained that clinical approaches at the CAI prioritize establishing physical safety and nervous system regulation before addressing traumatic memories.

The CAI operates with multidisciplinary teams comprising medical doctors, psychologists, social workers, and occupational therapists to provide long-term rehabilitation rather than solely emergency relief. MSF emphasized that access to comprehensive mental health and medical support remains essential for survivors of extreme violence on the move, calling for public policies that safeguard migrants and provide barrier-free access to specialized care.

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