A MEXICAN woman who killed a man while defending herself as he attacked and raped her in 2021 was sentenced to more than six years in prison on Tuesday, in a decision called discriminatory by her legal defence team, who vowed to appeal.

The ruling against Roxana Ruiz spurred anger from experts and feminist groups, who said it speaks to the depth of gender-based violence and the state of Mexico’s poor record of bringing perpetrators of sexual violence to justice.

Ms Ruiz’s lawyer, Angel Carrera, said: “It would be a bad precedent if this sentence were to hold. It’s sending the message to women that, you know what, the law says you can defend yourself, but only to a point.”