Location: PARAGUAY, BOLIVIA, CILE, BRASILE, ARGENTINA

Vivir para contarlo (Live to tell) is a long term work on gender violence, the struggle for fundamental human rights and social equality. Starting from Argentina, the country where the largest feminist movement in the world was created following an escalation of violence, I have documented this phenomenon in its various forms, with a particular focus on Latin American countries where the issue is relevant.

Gender violence and its most extreme manifestation, femicide, is a phenomenon so massive as to be transversal: from childhood to adulthood, no social class and no conditions is excluded. A key focus of my work, documented in countries such as Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, Brazil, and Argentina, is human trafficking for sexual exploitation. This international network, often linked to drug cartels and local police corruption, preys on young women and teenagers, promising a better life, only to have them trafficked across borders and forced into prostitution in brothels in Argentina, Brazil, or southern tourist areas of Patagonia. Sadly, about 24 million people worldwide are victims of this phenomenon, most being women and children. These victims are often raped, abused, killed, or left to disappear.

Additionally, I explore stories of resistance. In Brazil, I documented a favela once notorious for high femicide rates, which has transformed into a matriarchal society, thanks to former victims’ efforts to eradicate violent men. In Chile, I focused on domestic violence and feminist protests against police abuses during the rebellion against Neo-liberalism and the Piñera government.

I believe in the importance of this work to shed light on the enormity of gender violence in its various forms, to raise awareness is the most effective immediate solution to encourage more women to come forward to tell their stories and put pressure on governments.

ABOUT KARL MANCINI

Karl Mancini is an award-winning documentary photographer based in Rome and Buenos Aires. With over two decades of experience in more than 90 countries, his work focuses on social issues including gender violence, environment, war aftermaths, human rights, and migration.

In 2022 and 2023 He was grantee from the Pulitzer Center for his long term work “In the name of wellness” on the human and environmental cost of superfood monocultures, their connection with neocolonialism and for his research on the effects of climate change. In 2023, he was awarded the Environmental Investigative Journalism grant from Journalism Fund Europe.

His long-term project ‘Vivir para contarlo’ on gender violence and women’s fight for fundamental human rights has garnered several prestigious awards. His work has been exhibited globally and featured in major outlets like Newsweek, National Geographic, Stern, Der Spiegel, GEO, CNN, Vanity Fair, Internazionale, El Pais among others.

In 2023 He co- founded Ronin, a platform that combines different experiences and approaches to the world of photojournalism.