A recent article by Billy Briggs in ‘Scotland on Sunday’ features more poignant stories on femicide in Guatemala. He paints a depressing picture of femicide, whilst placing it within the context of Guatemala.

"Guatemala City is one of the most violent capitals in the world. Earlier this year, Philip Alston, the United Nations' special reporter on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions, said the current levels of violence in Guatemala are worse than during the civil war. Murder is as common as street vendors selling tortillas. Soldiers patrol the streets, and nearly every shop or business has a security guard outside who nervously totes a pump-action shotgun held high across his chest. Shopkeepers serve from behind steel bars, and the down-at-heel, low-rise streets are mostly deserted at night. It is a city living in fear.

Much of the current violence in Guatemala is targeted at women. The Centre for Legal Action on Human Rights (CALDH) has a thick folder of newspaper cuttings reporting female murders from the previous three months. The tabloids, such as Al Día and Nuestro Diario, are full of such stories daily."

Referring back to the violence of the past, he notes that the 'recent discovery of secret files belonging to the national police has brought fresh hope to thousands of Guatemalans that those responsible for war crimes may finally be held to account for their actions, something that will help Guatemalan society move on from its dark past.'

Billy Briggs is a freelance journalist from Scotland who specialises in human rights issues.