VIVIR PARA CONTARLO / LIVE TO TELL

Vivir para contarlo (Live to tell) is an ongoing long-term project about feminicide and violence against women.

Starting from Argentina, a country that in recent years has experienced an increase of gender violence, I’m documenting this issue and the many different kind of violence women suffer focusing my attention on the Latin American countries where the problem is relevant.

The phenomenon of gender violence and its most extreme manifestation, femicide, is unfortunately so massive as to be transversal: from childhood to adulthood, no social class and no conditions is excluded, even pregnant women aren’t spread.

Particularly serious in the many slums of the cities where people live in poor condition, criminality is very high and the youngster are in danger.

One aspect, which I have dealt with in depth and documented in various countries such as Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, Brazil, Argentina up to Tierra del Fuego at the southern end of the continent, is the one linked to the women trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation. An international network where many young teenagers falls into, victims of people who promise them the dream of a different life, a job, and then force them to prostitute in the brothels in the biggest cities of Argentina and Brazil or in the touristic places of the deep south. This phenomenon that sadly involves about 24 million people in the world, most women and children forced into prostitution, traded as sex slaves, raped, abused and often killed. Most were found dead after years or disappeared forever. This network is connected to the narcos cartel drugs traffic with connivance of local police.

My analysis of the issue also goes through totally different stories but linked by a common thread. For example, In Brazil I’ve documented what it once was the favela with highest rates of femicides in the country that now was turned to a matriarchal society with no tolerance rules for violent men born thanks to the work of some former victims. In Chile on domestic violence and feminist protests against police abuses during the rebellion against Neo-liberalism and the government of Piñera.

Other countries already covered or ongoing are: Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Perù, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Georgia, Iran, Armenia, Kazakhstan.

I strongly believe in the usefulness of this work that contains more than one goal:

Continue documenting several issues closely linked to gender violence, for making known to the greatest audience of people the enormity of the violence perpetrated against women in its various aspects.

Raising awareness about this problem is the most effective immediate solution to give courage to other women to come forward to tell their stories and bring pressure on the governments. Moreover give strength and visibility to the pressure groups born in the last few years that daily concrete help all the women abandoned by institutions and society.

© Karl Mancini - Image from the VIVIR PARA CONTARLO / LIVE TO TELL photography project
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Moron, Argentina. Adriana Toporovskaia in her house with her three twin daughters: Rivka, Alicia and Rajel Schiller. She is victim of many death threats by her ex husband Gustavo Melnec. She had filed 45 complaints to the police withouth getting any protection from them. Gustavo is a bus driver and he works frequently in the neighboor where Adriana live. He beated her many times and on the march,24, 2016 after a discussion He attempted to strangle her in front of the girls. She lives in a kind of prison always scared to meet him. Adriana is currently suffering of a brain cancer.

© Karl Mancini - Image from the VIVIR PARA CONTARLO / LIVE TO TELL photography project
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La Tablada, Argentina. Belen Torres seated in the garage of her family house. Belen was one of the victims of the "anesthetist". This the name given to Gerardo Ismael Biliris because of his profession and his way to torture his victims. On Jan,31,2016 while she was working at his office/apartment he started to punched her trying to kill her. She was saved thanks to the intervention of a neighbor who founded her in a lake of blood and he drove her to the hospital. Doctors found drugs and sedatives in the blood of Belen. After the imprisonment of Gerardo, the police discovered that he abused of many girls. He used to give mix of drugs and sedatives to his victims to abuse them also with friends. Belen has suffered a fracture in the shoulder, in the jaw and she doesn't hear from one ear because he stucked a glass in her ear.

© Karl Mancini - Image from the VIVIR PARA CONTARLO / LIVE TO TELL photography project
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San Antonio de Padua, Argentina. The scars on the body of Karina Abregù after she was burned by her husband, who is an alcoholic, after 11 years of violence. Karina currently cannot work because of her health conditions and she doesn’t receive any help from the gover- nment. People close to her ex husband’s family threaten her. She is fighting for her rights supported from her sister Carolina who started a campaign “Justicia por Karina”.

© Karl Mancini - Image from the VIVIR PARA CONTARLO / LIVE TO TELL photography project
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Buenos Aires. Mar,08,2018. Half million women from all over the country and from the other Latin America's nations join the second international women strike organized by the movement 'Ni Una Menos' on the occasion of the women's international day. The different mobilizations that were made in the country were requested for the legalization of abortion in Public Hospital.

© Karl Mancini - Image from the VIVIR PARA CONTARLO / LIVE TO TELL photography project
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San Antonio de Padua, Argentina. Karina Abregu holds her little son Siro. She was burned by her husband, who is an alcohoolic after 11 years of violence. Karina currently cannot work because of her health conditions and she doesn’t receive any kind of help from the government. She is fighting for her rights supported from her sister Carolina who started a campaign “Justicia por Karina”

© Karl Mancini - Image from the VIVIR PARA CONTARLO / LIVE TO TELL photography project
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Rawson, Chubut. Argentina. Abril and Soledad playing in a friend’s room. They were both victims of sexual domestic abuses. Phenomenon sadly current. Most of the victims report that they started to suffer gender violence and abuses in the family, often by fathers, brothers, uncles or trusted people.

© Karl Mancini - Image from the VIVIR PARA CONTARLO / LIVE TO TELL photography project
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Villa Fiorito, Argentina. Maira Gimenez in front of her aunt's house along with her cousins, Paola Gimenez with her youngest daughter and Sasha Gimenez at the window. Maira studies and works occasionally in a soup kitchen for poor people.She attends a poetry course that is her great passion and plays football. She lives in Villa Fiorito from the age of five years where she moved with her mother, brothers and stepfather. At the same age he began to abuse her and her sister and beat the brothers. After her mother's death in 2013 the older sister of Maira gets engaged to her stepfather and one of the two brothers began to steal and consume Paco, a drug born after the Argentine crisis of 2001, which is derived from the spread of cocaine, it has a very low price and has a devastating effect on the neurological system. A few years later his brother was killed by a police officer, the investigation is still ongoing. In 2016 Maira lost her home due to a fire. Villa Fiorito is a one of the many Villa Miserias on the outskirts of Buenos Aires built on the banks of the Riachuelo river, one of the most contaminated in the world. Most of the roads are not paved, the streets are not lit at night, and some areas are used as open-air dumps. The pollution, the lack of running water, the malfunction of the electrical service, delinquency, drug trafficking and drug use are some of the wounds of this place. Much of the population lives in extreme poverty, is discriminated against because of his origin and has no access to employment. Nevertheless, the residents of Villa Fiorito try to organize themselves supporting each other, not getting any kind of state aid.

© Karl Mancini - Image from the VIVIR PARA CONTARLO / LIVE TO TELL photography project
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Buenos Aires, Argentina. Jun,03,2017. Women belonging to the movement Mumala (mujeres de la matria latinamericana) demostrate before starting the 'Ni Una Menos' march with a mask and a name of a victim killed in the previous months in front of the National women's department of the government (consejo nacional de las mujeres).

© Karl Mancini - Image from the VIVIR PARA CONTARLO / LIVE TO TELL photography project
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Buenos Aires, Argentina. A woman is walking in one street of the center with a huge mural In the background. All the city is full of wall painted, sometimes entire buildings or streets. Often these paintings are political, many are against gender violence, injustice and people who sadly disappeared in the past.

© Karl Mancini - Image from the VIVIR PARA CONTARLO / LIVE TO TELL photography project
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Buenos Aires, Argentina. Analia with her children. She lives in one of the poorest neighborhood of Buenos Aires. She was raped several times and had two clandestin abortions. She reported the vioence but the police have never intervened.

© Karl Mancini - Image from the VIVIR PARA CONTARLO / LIVE TO TELL photography project
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Buenos Aires, Argentina. Marta Tarqui and her husband few moments after the sentence who condamned to life prison Oscar Hernan Trinidad Baez who killed their daughter Daiana Belen Colque with many stab wounds. He was her boyfriend and one the narcos of Villa 31, the poor barrio located close to Retiro train station, where Marta lives with her family.

© Karl Mancini - Image from the VIVIR PARA CONTARLO / LIVE TO TELL photography project
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Buenos Aires, Argentina. Marta Tarqui and her daughtrer Miriam cry and pray in the cementery of Chacarita for the loss of her daughter and sister Daiana Belen Colque, killed with many stab wounds from her boyfriend, paraguayan Hernan, one the narcos of Villa 31, the poor barrio located close to Retiro train station, where Marta lives with her family. Her boyfriend Oscar Hernan Trinidad Baez was finally condamned to life prison on November,29,2017

© Karl Mancini - Image from the VIVIR PARA CONTARLO / LIVE TO TELL photography project
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Buenos Aires, Argentina. Corina Fernandez was victim of physical and psychological violence from her ex husband, father of her two daughters, for several years. In 2010, because of his jelousy, he locked her in the house where they lived and started to beat her for more than 12 hours.1 year and a half later her ex husband shooted 3 gunshots in her heart in front of her children’s school. After 22 days of intensive therapy Corina started to rehab herself. Today she is an activist in vio- lence against women.She is also protagonist as actress in a fiction documentary that tells her story called ‘No Me Mates-Don’t kill me’.

© Karl Mancini - Image from the VIVIR PARA CONTARLO / LIVE TO TELL photography project
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La Tablada, Argentina. Belen Torres was one of the victims of the "anesthetist". This is the name given to Gerardo Ismael Biliris because of his profession and his way to torture his victims. This photo was taken after being attacked. On Jan,31,2016 while she was working at his office/apartment he started to punched her trying to kill her. She was saved thanks to the intervention of a neighbor who founded her in a lake of blood and he drove her to the hospital. Doctors found drugs and sedatives in the blood of Belen. After the imprisonment of Gerardo, the police discovered that he abused of many girls. He used to give mix of drugs and sedatives to his victims to abuse them also with friends. Belen has suffered a fracture in the shoulder, in the jaw and she doesn't hear from one ear because he stucked a glass in her ear.

© Karl Mancini - Image from the VIVIR PARA CONTARLO / LIVE TO TELL photography project
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Argentina, Alika Kinan. Survivor of the crime of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation in the Fire's land. Feminist militant and abolitionist. First and only victim of human trafficking in Argentina who has seen her pimps convicted and who has been indemnified from the state. She lives in a secret location under protection with her family cause her life is in danger after the sentence. She's now a global ambassador and activist against Human Trafficking receiving several awards in the United States and in various other countries for her commitment and her fight. It's estimated that in the country about 60,000 women are prisoners of this terrible network. The new 'desaparecidas'! In Argentina ‘La ley de trata’ - the law against human trafficking - was created in 2008. The sentence varies from 5 to 18 years and is multiplied by each victim for which he is responsible. Recently a telephone line has also been set up to report crimes related to this issue, the line 145. 40% of victims in Argentina come from Paraguay. Human trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation most of the time is linked to drug trafficking and the phenomenon involves several parts of society and often uses police and justice corruption to proliferate unpunished. It is estimated that in the country about 60,000 women are prisoners of this terrible network. The new 'desaparecidas'! In Argentina ‘La ley de trata’ - the law against human trafficking - was created in 2008. The sentence varies from 5 to 18 years and is multiplied by each victim for which he is responsible. Recently a telephone line has also been set up to report crimes related to this issue, the line 145. 40% of victims in Argentina come from Paraguay. Human trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation most of the time is linked to drug trafficking and the phenomenon involves several parts of society and often uses police and justice corruption to proliferate unpunished. Luckily she wasn't hit by the shots. Prostitution in Argentina is illegal but in the only Buenos Aires there are 1500 brothels, 40000 in the country. It is estimated that in the country about 60,000 women are prisoners of this terrible network. They are sadly known as the new 'desaparecidas'! In Argentina ‘La ley de trata’ - the law against human trafficking - was created in 2008. The sentence varies from 5 to 18 years and is multiplied by each victim for which he is responsible. Recently a telephone line has also been set up to report crimes related to this issue, the line 145. 40% of victims in Argentina come from Paraguay. Human trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation most of the time is linked to drug trafficking and the phenomenon involves several parts of society and often uses police and justice corruption to proliferate unpunished.

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