Victims of gender violence

Victims of gender violence

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A woman in Guatemala City covers a girl's eyes, as she looks at the corpse of a female victim reported to have been shot by gang members. The brutal scene is not such an uncommon one: an average of two women a day are murdered in Guatemala, according to the United Nations.

Violence against women is a problem in Central America, which contains some of the states with the world's highest rates of femicide - the gender-related killing of women.

. Apopa, El Salvador. REUTERS/Ulises Rodriguez

Red Cross volunteers help a badly injured young woman named Claudia in Apopa, on the outskirts of San Salvador. She was raped and battered by alleged members of the Mara Salvatrucha street gang, then thrown into a ditch and left for dead.

Extreme violence towards women is a major issue in El Salvador, which has the highest incidence of femicide in the world, according to a study by the Academic Council on the United Nations System.

. San Salvador, El Salvador. REUTERS/Ulises Rodriguez

Thirty-year-old Evelyn Hernandez Sanchez is another victim of gender violence in El Salvador. Her husband shot at her with a 9mm pistol and when the bullet did not hit her, he proceeded to beat her with the butt of the gun.

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Slideshow

Police officers gather around the dead body of a woman at a crime scene in Villanueva, on the outskirts of Guatemala City.
. Villanueva, Guatemala. REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez

Police officers gather around the dead body of a woman at a crime scene in Villanueva, on the outskirts of Guatemala City.

Police stand near the corpse of a woman, which had been covered with a metal sheet at a garbage dump in Mixco.
. Mixco, Guatemala. REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez

Police stand near the corpse of a woman, which had been covered with a metal sheet at a garbage dump in Mixco.

A woman kneels next to the body of a female victim at a crime scene in Bocadelmonte.
. Bocadelmonte, Guatemala. REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez

A woman kneels next to the body of a female victim at a crime scene in Bocadelmonte.

The hand of a dead woman sticks out from underneath a plastic sheet in Villalobos.
. Villalobos, Guatemala. REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez

The hand of a dead woman sticks out from underneath a plastic sheet in Villalobos.

Shoes belonging to Rosivel Elisabeth Grande, who was killed by an unidentified man who shot her five times as she was going to work, lie on the street in Quezaltepeque.
. Quezaltepeque, El Salvador. REUTERS/Ulises Rodriguez

Shoes belonging to Rosivel Elisabeth Grande, who was killed by an unidentified man who shot her five times as she was going to work, lie on the street in Quezaltepeque.

A man cleans blood off the street where Grande was killed.
. Quezaltepeque, El Salvador. REUTERS/Ulises Rodriguez

A man cleans blood off the street where Grande was killed.

A police officer cordons off a crime scene in Boca del Monte, where 20-year-old Noemi Garcia was shot dead by alleged members of the Mara 18 street gang, according to local media.
. Boca del Monte, Guatemala. REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez

A police officer cordons off a crime scene in Boca del Monte, where 20-year-old Noemi Garcia was shot dead by alleged members of the Mara 18 street gang, according to local media.

A handcuffed suspect stands before entering a court that deals with gender-based crimes in Guatemala City.
. Guatemala City, Guatemala. REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez

A handcuffed suspect stands before entering a court that deals with gender-based crimes in Guatemala City.

Ana Noelia Abrego, who was accused of being an accomplice to a gang of rapists and kidnappers, reacts while sitting in the court.
. Guatemala City, Guatemala. REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez

Ana Noelia Abrego, who was accused of being an accomplice to a gang of rapists and kidnappers, reacts while sitting in the court.

Members of a gang sit behind glass in the court for gender-based crimes while listening to their sentence.
. Guatemala City, Guatemala. REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez

Members of a gang sit behind glass in the court for gender-based crimes while listening to their sentence.

Evelyn Hernandez Sanchez, who was beaten by her husband with a gun, stands in the facial surgery unit at the Rosales hospital in San Salvador.
. San Salvador, El Salvador. REUTERS/Ulises Rodriguez

Evelyn Hernandez Sanchez, who was beaten by her husband with a gun, stands in the facial surgery unit at the Rosales hospital in San Salvador.

A doctor points to an X-ray of Silvia Dinora Rivera at the same hospital. Rivera was 37 years old when her husband tied her to a chair, poured gasoline over her and set fire to the house. She later died in hospital.
. San Salvador, El Salvador. REUTERS/Ulises Rodriguez

A doctor points to an X-ray of Silvia Dinora Rivera at the same hospital. Rivera was 37 years old when her husband tied her to a chair, poured gasoline over her and set fire to the house. She later died in hospital.

Rivera lies in the intensive care unit at the hospital.
. San Salvador, El Salvador. REUTERS/Ulises Rodriguez

Rivera lies in the intensive care unit at the hospital.

Maria Victoria Grande is comforted by friends after seeing the body of her daughter Rosivel, who was shot dead on a street in Quezaltepeque.
. Quezaltepeque, El Salvador. REUTERS/Ulises Rodriguez

Maria Victoria Grande is comforted by friends after seeing the body of her daughter Rosivel, who was shot dead on a street in Quezaltepeque.

A relative of a woman who was shot and killed wipes away tears near the crime scene.
. Bocadelmonte, Guatemala. REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez

A relative of a woman who was shot and killed wipes away tears near the crime scene.

A family member holds out a photograph of the murdered Rosivel Elisabeth Grande.
. Quezaltepeque, El Salvador. REUTERS/Ulises Rodriguez

A family member holds out a photograph of the murdered Rosivel Elisabeth Grande.

People hug during the wake for Silvia Dinora Rivera, who died after her husband covered her with gasoline and set the house alight.
. San Salvador, El Salvador. REUTERS/Ulises Rodriguez

People hug during the wake for Silvia Dinora Rivera, who died after her husband covered her with gasoline and set the house alight.

A street vendor sings a prayer during the wake.
. San Salvador, El Salvador. REUTERS/Ulises Rodriguez

A street vendor sings a prayer during the wake.

People gather together at the event, which was held in the market stall where Rivera used to work with her mother.
. San Salvador, El Salvador. REUTERS/Ulises Rodriguez

People gather together at the event, which was held in the market stall where Rivera used to work with her mother.

"It was only the incredible courage of the women that could provide some hope."
Ulises Rodriguez, Reuters Photographer

The clock on the wall marked four in the morning. It was a cold and wet July Saturday, but I was sitting in the warm offices of El Salvador’s Red Cross.

Suddenly, the relative calm and silence in the emergency unit were interrupted when the phone rang, and the loud noise made me jump.

The phone operator said: “What is your name… if you don’t identify yourself, we can’t help you.”

I went to the operator and asked him what was happening. He said that there had been a report of a woman who had been beaten, raped several times and then left for dead in a ditch.

He said that they would take her to hospital because of the severity of her injuries, and I asked to go along.

When I got to the place where she had been found, I saw a woman dressed in a baby blue dress that was dirty all over, with a face disfigured by the blows she had received. She was disoriented and her gaze seemed lost in a void. She kept on repeating that her name was Claudia.

The Red Cross volunteers told me that she had been raped by 11 men and that they had tried to strangle her. They took her gently by the hand and moved her to the ambulance.

We arrived at a hospital so that she could receive medical attention, but the doctor on call scolded the volunteers for bringing in a person without identification. I was told that some doctors don’t attend to patients who don’t have ID.

Nevertheless, hospitals all over the country treat women every day who have experienced some sort of violence.

One of these women was Silvia, who worked in the central market of San Salvador until she was burned alive by her partner, a man with a long record of alcoholism and drug abuse.

A domestic dispute led him to tie her to a chair, douse her with gasoline and then set fire to the house.

Silvia stayed in the emergency unit of a hospital for nine days after suffering third degree burns on 90 percent of her body, but nothing could be done for her and she died.

Covering the murder of women and other violence against them in El Salvador wasn’t easy.

It wasn’t just a case of putting aside my emotions as I saw mutilated bodies dumped in streets or muddy ditches, or women with their faces disfigured by uncontrolled rage. I also felt an immense powerlessness as I recognised the weaknesses of the institutions in this country when dealing with the problem.

It was only the incredible courage of the women that could provide some hope and offer some sort of help to others by denouncing their torturers.

One of them was Evelyn, who was brutally beaten by her husband with the butt of a 9mm pistol. He had shot at her but missed, maybe on purpose or maybe by accident.

When I asked Evelyn for permission to photograph her, she quickly said yes.

When I asked her why she let me take pictures of her, she said: “If people don’t see what is happening to me, this man will kill me the next time.”