By Mary Lawlor

According to the Brazilian Committee of Human Rights Defenders, at least 24 human rights defenders (HRDs) have been killed in the first four months of 2016. This places Brazil at the top of the list of killings of HRDs reported to Front Line Defenders this year. The Committee, formed by several NGOs and civil society representatives, has denounced this escalation of violence to the United Nations (UN) and the Organisation of American States (OAS), highlighting the fact that that violence against HRDs includes death threats, harassment, stigmatisation, the undue use of the judicial system against HRDs, surveillance and even murder.

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In the evening of 24 January 2016, Paola Barraza’s heard voices outside her home calling to her. When she opened the door, a group of men shot her five times. She died shortly after as a result of her wounds.

Paola Barraza is a trans woman and member of Arcoíris, an organisation which works for the lesbian, gay, trans, bisexual and intersex (LGTBI) community in Honduras. This was not the first time Paola was attacked; in August 2015 unknown men had already tried to kill her. She was shot numerous times and she was seriously injured as a result of the attack.

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