Last month, 39-year-old Mexican Olympic medalist and senator Ana Gabriela Guevara was beaten by a group of men while traveling on a highway in Mexico.
Guevara was riding on her motorcycle on Dec. 11, 2016, when she was hit by a car. She told the BBC that a group of four men exited the vehicle and began to beat her. She was hospitalized for her injuries.
Shortly after the attack, Guevara shared pictures of her injuries on Twitter, and thanked her followers for their support.
Agradezco la atenciones de tod@s quienes han estado pendientes de mí y mi salud, eh salido de quirófano bien a recu… https://t.co/PJCPmA3USM
"Thanks to everybody who was worried about me and my health, I have left the operating room well, now to recover from surgery."
She held a press conference a few days later, during which she broke down in tears, calling her attack "cowardly" and "vile."
Guevara said during the press conference that she believed the attack to be gender motivated. The beating was so severe she had to have surgery to put a plate on the right side of her face.
"This scar they left on my face," she said, "will be a permanent reminder that I will always defend [the fight against violence against women]."
Shortly after the attack, Twitter users began using the hashtag #GolpearMujeresEsFelicidad – "beating women is happiness" – in relation to Guevara.
Por cada RT es una mujer golpeada por su esposo #GolpearMujeresEsFelicidad
"Each RT is a woman beaten by her husband."
The abuse was not limited to the hashtag, with people across social media suggesting Guevara deserved to be attacked.
#GolpearMujeresEsFelicidad No creo que alguna mujer lea esto, digo, ellas deben estar en la cocina preparando sándwiches para sus hombres.
"I don’t think women will read, I mean, they must be in the kitchen making sandwiches for their husbands."
The hashtag trended in Mexico, and continued for several weeks.
#GolpearMujeresEsFelicidad Esas mujeres que se ofenden de este hashtag cuando en su foto de perfil usan el filtro de perra, osea confunden
"Women offended by this hashtag when they use the bitch filter in their profile picture are confusing."
#GolpearMujeresEsFelicidad Tranquila , solo te daré unas buenas nalgadas !!!
"Don’t worry, I’m just going to give you a good spanking."
Shortly after the hashtag began, though, it started to receive backlash.
Y el premio al hastag de mierda de todos los tiempos es para... #GolpearMujeresEsFelicidad
"And the award for shittest hashtag of all time goes to..."
Nunca me ha preocupado tanto la humanidad como este #2016 Un HT más que indica lo mal que anda nuestro 🌎: #GolpearMujeresEsFelicidad 😔
"I have never been more worried by humanity than during 2016. This hashtag shows how wrong our world is."
More and more people around the world became aware of the hashtag and began to criticize those supporting it.
Ce # est une honte. #GolpearMujeresEsFelicidad
"This hashtag is a shame."
2 all trending #GolpearMujeresEsFelicidad Or #BeatingWomenIsHappiness - that include ur mothers too? Thought not u 🐷 #ViolenceAgainstWomen
While Guevara has not addressed the hashtag herself, she has used #BastaDeViolencia — "enough violence" — to speak about her ordeal.
Mi lucha es por las que callan, tienen miedo, las que dudan y no tienen visibilidad #bastadevilencia #porlasquecallan
"My battle is for those who are silenced, are afraid, doubt and have no visibility #StopViolence #ForThoseWhoShutUp"
It's been confirmed that the incident is being investigated by law enforcement.
The prime suspect in the attack, according to investigators, is a police officer who was off duty at the time. Authorities are currently attempting to get ahold of surveillance footage that might have captured the attack.