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  • Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, (centre) is tidying up some clothes inside her house, before leaving to participate at the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family. Her eldest sister, Minal, 20, (right) came to visit her family, while their father Mahesh Kashinath Pandit, 42, (left) is talking to her.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_21.JPG
  • Afreen, 17, a member of the Red Brigades, is performing during a street play promoting awareness about women’s condition in India, on the streets of Madiyaw colony, Lucknow District, Uttar Pradesh. The Red Brigades are a group of young women led by Usha, 25, who after an attempted rape began talking about abuse with her students, aged around 14 to 18 years old. Usha founded the Red Brigades in November 2010. They perform in self-written plays on gender equality around villages and cities, take part to protests and also teach self-defence classes. Most of the girls in the group have experienced some kind of abuse in their past. They sing words such as "all sisters are breaking all the rules, boundaries, come to bring a new world, change will come," and "for how long do we have to go through this?" and "the country has freedom, but girls do not have freedom."
    Sexual_Violence_India_10.JPG
  • (name changed) Kanchan Kumari Sharma, 12, is standing insider her home in Sersiya Kekrahi village, Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh, India. In 2012, Kanchan went with a friend to bring lunch to her father, around 2 km away from her home. On the way they met Rajesh (rapist) and Ashok, a friend of his. Both girls were picked up on the spot using an excuse. Ashok drove Kanchan's friend home, but Rajesh forced Kanchan to travel with him during six days and for hundreds of kilometres across different states. (Mirzapur / Chennai / Itarsi / Bhusawal) He raped her once behind the station in Itarsi. With great effort and some coincidence, the uncle of Kanchan managed to bring her back home. Although she was scared, she insisted on going to the police to file a case (FIR). She was kept at the police station for 12 days and threatened to prevent her from filing an official case. Ashok and Rajesh are from higher caste and wealthy families. While Rajesh spent 24 days in jail initially in summer 2012, he is now a free man while the trial is still going on. Kanchan's family is now struggling to put together 30.000 Indian Rupees (500 USD) to continue battling for justice in court.
    Sexual_Violence_India_01.JPG
  • A woman and her two children are sitting next to a field in the rural area outside of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
    Sexual_Violence_India_21.JPG
  • (name changed) Neelam Bharadwaj, 16, (right) is standing inside her family’s home in Rajbhar village, located around 20 kilometres away from Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India, while her older sister Sanju, 29, (left) is cooking. Neelam was raped when she was 13 years old. After walking to a local shop on the main road neighbouring her village, she was forcibly picked up by two men. While one of them was raping her in the bushes, the other watched out. After some time, she managed to free herself and run away, hiding under a bridge in cold dirty water for several hours. When she returned home in the morning, the family was too afraid to go to the police, but activist Mangla Parsad, 34, from PVCHR, convinced the family to take the right action. The police initially insulted and threatened the family for bringing the facts up, but filed the official case (FIR) nevertheless. The rape was not mentioned in the file due to an inaccurate and superficial medical record that did not, in fact, mention it. Because of social shame facing by victims of rape in India, the family agreed to wed Neelam to an older man, with help of an agent. After the marriage, her husband raped her again for a whole month before she decided to return home with her family. Neelam’s father works in the metal industry in Mumbai and manages to send around 2-3000 INR every month. He only visits the family once in a year. Neelam goes to school and she is studying in 11th Class Standard. She is interested in doing BA in Arts after completing her high school 12th final year.
    Sexual_Violence_India_20.JPG
  • (name changed) Neelam Bharadwaj, 16, is standing inside her family’s home in Rajbhar village, located around 20 kilometres away from Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Neelam was raped when she was 13 years old. After walking to a local shop on the main road neighbouring her village, she was forcibly picked up by two men. While one of them was raping her in the bushes, the other watched out. After some time, she managed to free herself and run away, hiding under a bridge in cold dirty water for several hours. When she returned home in the morning, the family was too afraid to go to the police, but activist Mangla Parsad, 34, from PVCHR, convinced the family to take the right action. The police initially insulted and threatened the family for bringing the facts up, but filed the official case (FIR) nevertheless. The rape was not mentioned in the file due to an inaccurate and superficial medical record that did not, in fact, mention it. Because of social shame facing by victims of rape in India, the family agreed to wed Neelam to an older man, with help of an agent. After the marriage, her husband raped her again for a whole month before she decided to return home with her family. Neelam’s father works in the metal industry in Mumbai and manages to send around 2-3000 INR every month. He only visits the family once in a year. Neelam goes to school and she is studying in 11th Class Standard. She is interested in doing BA in Arts after completing her high school 12th final year.
    Sexual_Violence_India_14.JPG
  • Indian men are walking next to provoking Pepsi advertisement starring Bollywood celebrity Priyanka Chopra, on the streets of Lucknow, the state capital of Uttar Pradesh, India.
    Sexual_Violence_India_02.JPG
  • Minakshee, 17, (right) one of Mahesh Pandit's older sisters is also a Unicef community facilitator, and she is now helping to run the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_28.JPG
  • Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, is walking around her modest home, before leaving to participate at the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_20.JPG
  • Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, (centre) is tidying up some clothes inside her house, before leaving to participate at the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family. Her eldest sister, Minal, 20, (right) came to visit her family, while their father Mahesh Kashinath Pandit, 42, (left) is talking to her.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_12.JPG
  • Anita Suresh Kasbe,  41, (centre) the Unicef community facilitator is dancing and singing with the girls attending the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Here, Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, (left) she resides with her family.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_22.JPG
  • Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, (left) is participating to the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_06.JPG
  • Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, (centre) is participating to the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_02.JPG
  • Pravesh Verma, 29, from the charity MASVAW, is smiling inside his home in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. Pravesh grew up in a middle class family living in a small village where women had to stay in the house and cover their faces when young or just married. He never helped with anything at home; sometimes he and his brother used to beat their sister when she left home to be with her local friends. He used to insult girls using foul language. He had a girlfriend, an adult relationship, but nobody was to know. When his father found out, they had to break up. He later moved to Lucknow in 2001 to study philosophy, and in summer 2007 he attended his first MASVAW-workshop on gender equality. He was impressed and continued to visit those kind of workshops in the coming years. Pravesh began to change; he started to cook and clean on his own, opened up a banking account for his sister where he could deposit some money for her, he even asked his father to change some of his property to his mother's name. He now has a girlfriend named Pinki, 29, and they both met each other's parents. He would like to marry her, but she is still thinking about it. She lives close to Delhi, and they can only meet twice a month. He resides in Lucknow with his sister and his old grandmother, around 100 years old.
    Sexual_Violence_India_45.JPG
  • Dr Lenin Raghuvanshi, (left) and her wife (right) are listening to some of their collaborators at the PVCHR headquarters in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Lenin's grandfather was a freedom fighter in India's fight against the British. His father was a communist, so he names all of his children after famous communists: Mao, Che Guevara, Stalin, Lenin and Raul. Lenin used to be a doctor in Ayurveda and modern medicine but quit because of the inherent corruption he witnessed. He founded PVCHR in 1996. The charity organises workshops, supports victims during trial and with the police, and promotes education and gender equality.
    Sexual_Violence_India_43.JPG
  • In the early morning, a lone boy is standing by Hindu writing on a wall near Sersiya Kekrahi village, Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh, India. In 2012, Kanchan (name changed) went with a friend to bring lunch to her father, around 2 km away from her home. On the way they met Rajesh (rapist) and Ashok, a friend of his. Both girls were picked up on the spot using an excuse. Ashok drove Kanchan's friend home, but Rajesh forced Kanchan to travel with him during six days and for hundreds of kilometres across different states. (Mirzapur / Chennai / Itarsi / Bhusawal) He raped her once behind the station in Itarsi. With great effort and some coincidence, the uncle of Kanchan managed to bring her back home. Although she was scared, she insisted on going to the police to file a case (FIR). She was kept at the police station for 12 days and threatened to prevent her from filing an official case. Ashok and Rajesh are from higher caste and wealthy families. While Rajesh spent 24 days in jail initially in summer 2012, he is now a free man while the trial is still going on. Kanchan's family is now struggling to put together 30.000 Indian Rupees (500 USD) to continue battling for justice in court.
    Sexual_Violence_India_41.JPG
  • Young women are taking part to an awareness workshop organised by Neeta Shani, from the charity PVCHR, in Parmandapur, a rural area near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. The girls are painting pro-women slogans on the walls of the local Panchayat, or village council.
    Sexual_Violence_India_40.JPG
  • Members of the Red Brigades are showing their martial arts skills on the streets of Madiyaw colony, Lucknow District, Uttar Pradesh. The Red Brigades are a group of young women led by Usha, 25, who after an attempted rape began talking about abuse with her students, aged around 14 to 18 years old. Usha founded the Red Brigades in November 2010. They act in self-written plays on gender equality around villages and cities, take part to protests and also teach self-defence classes. Most of the girls in the group have experienced some kind of abuse in their past. They sing words such as "all sisters are breaking all the rules, boundaries, come to bring a new world, change will come," and "for how long do we have to go through this?" and "the country has freedom, but girls do not have freedom."
    Sexual_Violence_India_38.JPG
  • In the early morning, men are standing around the roads of Sersiya Kekrahi village, Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh, India, where Kanchan Kumari Sharma, 12, (name changed) resides with her family. In 2012, Kanchan went with a friend to bring lunch to her father, around 2 km away from her home. On the way they met Rajesh (rapist) and Ashok, a friend of his. Both girls were picked up on the spot using an excuse. Ashok drove Kanchan's friend home, but Rajesh forced Kanchan to travel with him during six days and for hundreds of kilometres across different states. (Mirzapur / Chennai / Itarsi / Bhusawal) He raped her once behind the station in Itarsi. With great effort and some coincidence, the uncle of Kanchan managed to bring her back home. Although she was scared, she insisted on going to the police to file a case (FIR). She was kept at the police station for 12 days and threatened to prevent her from filing an official case. Ashok and Rajesh are from higher caste and wealthy families. While Rajesh spent 24 days in jail initially in summer 2012, he is now a free man while the trial is still going on. Kanchan's family is now struggling to put together 30.000 Indian Rupees (500 USD) to continue battling for justice in court.
    Sexual_Violence_India_36.JPG
  • (name changed) Neelam Bharadwaj, 16, is preparing some rice for cooking while sitting inside her family’s home in Rajbhar village, located around 20 kilometres away from Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Neelam was raped when she was 13 years old. After walking to a local shop on the main road neighbouring her village, she was forcibly picked up by two men. While one of them was raping her in the bushes, the other watched out. After some time, she managed to free herself and run away, hiding under a bridge in cold dirty water for several hours. When she returned home in the morning, the family was too afraid to go to the police, but activist Mangla Parsad, 34, from PVCHR, convinced the family to take the right action. The police initially insulted and threatened the family for bringing the facts up, but filed the official case (FIR) nevertheless. The rape was not mentioned in the file due to an inaccurate and superficial medical record that did not, in fact, mention it. Because of social shame facing by victims of rape in India, the family agreed to wed Neelam to an older man, with help of an agent. After the marriage, her husband raped her again for a whole month before she decided to return home with her family. Neelam’s father works in the metal industry in Mumbai and manages to send around 2-3000 INR every month. He only visits the family once in a year. Neelam goes to school and she is studying in 11th Class Standard. She is interested in doing BA in Arts after completing her high school 12th final year.
    Sexual_Violence_India_34.JPG
  • A lone woman is crossing a small fence near a railway crossing on the outskirts of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
    Sexual_Violence_India_32.JPG
  • A young girl and other women are walking near a fruit vendor on the roads of Madiyaw colony, Lucknow District, Uttar Pradesh.
    Sexual_Violence_India_29.JPG
  • Boys are playing arcade video games on the roads of Madiyaw colony, Lucknow District, Uttar Pradesh.
    Sexual_Violence_India_23.JPG
  • Children are taking part to an awareness workshop organised by Neeta Shani, from the charity PVCHR, in Parmandapur, a rural area near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
    Sexual_Violence_India_18.JPG
  • (name changed) Neelam Bharadwaj, 16, is standing among some clothes inside her family’s home in Rajbhar village, located around 20 kilometres away from Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Neelam was raped when she was 13 years old. After walking to a local shop on the main road neighbouring her village, she was forcibly picked up by two men. While one of them was raping her in the bushes, the other watched out. After some time, she managed to free herself and run away, hiding under a bridge in cold dirty water for several hours. When she returned home in the morning, the family was too afraid to go to the police, but activist Mangla Parsad, 34, from PVCHR, convinced the family to take the right action. The police initially insulted and threatened the family for bringing the facts up, but filed the official case (FIR) nevertheless. The rape was not mentioned in the file due to an inaccurate and superficial medical record that did not, in fact, mention it. Because of social shame facing by victims of rape in India, the family agreed to wed Neelam to an older man, with help of an agent. After the marriage, her husband raped her again for a whole month before she decided to return home with her family. Neelam’s father works in the metal industry in Mumbai and manages to send around 2-3000 INR every month. He only visits the family once in a year. Neelam goes to school and she is studying in 11th Class Standard. She is interested in doing BA in Arts after completing her high school 12th final year.
    Sexual_Violence_India_08.JPG
  • Members of the Red Brigades are performing in a street play promoting awareness about women’s condition in India, on the streets of Madiyaw colony, Lucknow District, Uttar Pradesh. The Red Brigades are a group of young women led by Usha, 25, who after an attempted rape began talking about abuse with her students, aged around 14 to 18 years old. Usha founded the Red Brigades in November 2010. They act in self-written plays on gender equality around villages and cities, take part to protests and also teach self-defence classes. Most of the girls in the group have experienced some kind of abuse in their past. They sing words such as "all sisters are breaking all the rules, boundaries, come to bring a new world, change will come," and "for how long do we have to go through this?" and "the country has freedom, but girls do not have freedom."
    Sexual_Violence_India_07.JPG
  • Geeta, (right) around 40 years old, is recounting how her younger daughter Radhika, 4, was kidnapped, raped and murdered on July 7th-8th, while her other daughter, Poonam, 8, (left) is sitting next to her, on a road inside Pakkatalab colony, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Radhika was kidnapped out of the family’s house, nobody noticed. Her mother, Geeta, woke up at around 2am on July 8th and went searching for her younger daughter. She also went to the police, but they didn't do anything to help finding the girl. Geeta found her girl on the street, already dead. According to ‘The Times of India’, around 60 wounds were found on the girl’s body. Instead of filing an official case, (FIR) the police told the mother that street dogs had killed her child. The post-mortem examination showed differently, and also proved that Radhika was raped. After some street demonstrations, the two police officers involved were suspended, and the police have now started searching for evidence. A destitute woman, Geeta makes and sells stones that are used as a flat base where to shred and chip vegetables. Her husband, Raju, died 3 years ago.
    Sexual_Violence_India_06.JPG
  • Anita Suresh Kasbe,  41, (left) the Unicef community facilitator is teaching to the girls - and others - attending the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_26.JPG
  • Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, (right - next to the door) is participating to the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_25.JPG
  • Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, (centre) is participating to the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_24.JPG
  • Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, (centre) is pouring some rice to be cooked for lunch before leaving to participate at the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_15.JPG
  • Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, (centre) is washing dishes in front of her home, before leaving to participate at the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_14.JPG
  • Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, (centre) is grabbing a pot to begin cooking lunch for her father, before leaving to participate at the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_13.JPG
  • Minakshee, 17, (right) one of Mahesh Pandit's older sisters is also a Unicef community facilitator and is helping to run the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_11.JPG
  • Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, (centre) is participating to the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_10.JPG
  • Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, (centre) is walking towards the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_09.JPG
  • Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, (centre) is sitting insider her home tiding her hair, just before attending the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_04.JPG
  • (name changed) Neelam Bharadwaj, 16, (second from right) is preparing some rice for cooking, while her older sister Sanju, 29, (right) is preparing a pot with water, inside their home in Rajbhar village, located around 20 kilometres away from Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Sanju's children, Payel, 5, (second from left) and Prince Kumar, 3, (left) are sitting nearby. Neelam was raped when she was 13 years old. After walking to a local shop on the main road neighbouring her village, she was forcibly picked up by two men. While one of them was raping her in the bushes, the other watched out. After some time, she managed to free herself and run away, hiding under a bridge in cold dirty water for several hours. When she returned home in the morning, the family was too afraid to go to the police, but activist Mangla Parsad, 34, from PVCHR, convinced the family to take the right action. The police initially insulted and threatened the family for bringing the facts up, but filed the official case (FIR) nevertheless. The rape was not mentioned in the file due to an inaccurate and superficial medical record that did not, in fact, mention it. Because of social shame facing by victims of rape in India, the family agreed to wed Neelam to an older man, with help of an agent. After the marriage, her husband raped her again for a whole month before she decided to return home with her family. Neelam’s father works in the metal industry in Mumbai and manages to send around 2-3000 INR every month. He only visits the family once in a year. Neelam goes to school and she is studying in 11th Class Standard. She is interested in doing BA in Arts after completing her high school 12th final year.
    Sexual_Violence_India_42.JPG
  • Schoolgirls in uniform are waiting for a rickshaw on the streets of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
    Sexual_Violence_India_37.JPG
  • People are passing by a capsized Tata truck on a rural road outside of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
    Sexual_Violence_India_35.JPG
  • A boy is walking on the small bridge near Rajbhar village, under which Neelam Bharadwaj, 16,(name changed) has been hiding a whole night during her ordeal, while trying to escape from her attackers, around 20 kilometres away from Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Neelam was raped when she was 13 years old. After walking to a local shop on the main road neighbouring her village, she was forcibly picked up by two men. While one of them was raping her in the bushes, the other watched out. After some time, she managed to free herself and run away, hiding under a bridge in cold dirty water for several hours. When she returned home in the morning, the family was too afraid to go to the police, but activist Mangla Parsad, 34, from PVCHR, convinced the family to take the right action. The police initially insulted and threatened the family for bringing the facts up, but filed the official case (FIR) nevertheless. The rape was not mentioned in the file due to an inaccurate and superficial medical record that did not, in fact, mention it. Because of social shame facing by victims of rape in India, the family agreed to wed Neelam to an older man, with help of an agent. After the marriage, her husband raped her again for a whole month before she decided to return home with her family. Neelam’s father works in the metal industry in Mumbai and manages to send around 2-3000 INR every month. He only visits the family once in a year. Neelam goes to school and she is studying in 11th Class Standard. She is interested in doing BA in Arts after completing her high school 12th final year.
    Sexual_Violence_India_33.JPG
  • (name changed) Kanchan Kumari Sharma, 12, is standing by the entrance of her home in Sersiya Kekrahi village, Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh, India. In 2012, Kanchan went with a friend to bring lunch to her father, around 2 km away from her home. On the way they met Rajesh (rapist) and Ashok, a friend of his. Both girls were picked up on the spot using an excuse. Ashok drove Kanchan's friend home, but Rajesh forced Kanchan to travel with him during six days and for hundreds of kilometres across different states. (Mirzapur / Chennai / Itarsi / Bhusawal) He raped her once behind the station in Itarsi. With great effort and some coincidence, the uncle of Kanchan managed to bring her back home. Although she was scared, she insisted on going to the police to file a case (FIR). She was kept at the police station for 12 days and threatened to prevent her from filing an official case. Ashok and Rajesh are from higher caste and wealthy families. While Rajesh spent 24 days in jail initially in summer 2012, he is now a free man while the trial is still going on. Kanchan's family is now struggling to put together 30.000 Indian Rupees (500 USD) to continue battling for justice in court.
    Sexual_Violence_India_31.JPG
  • Under the heavy rain, a boy is sitting inside a rickshaw passing though a busy street of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
    Sexual_Violence_India_27.JPG
  • A young boy (right) and a man (left) and facing each other on a road inside Rajbhar village, where Neelam Bharadwaj, 16, (name changed) resides with her family, around 20 kilometres away from Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Neelam was raped when she was 13 years old. After walking to a local shop on the main road neighbouring her village, she was forcibly picked up by two men. While one of them was raping her in the bushes, the other watched out. After some time, she managed to free herself and run away, hiding under a bridge in cold dirty water for several hours. When she returned home in the morning, the family was too afraid to go to the police, but activist Mangla Parsad, 34, from PVCHR, convinced the family to take the right action. The police initially insulted and threatened the family for bringing the facts up, but filed the official case (FIR) nevertheless. The rape was not mentioned in the file due to an inaccurate and superficial medical record that did not, in fact, mention it. Because of social shame facing by victims of rape in India, the family agreed to wed Neelam to an older man, with help of an agent. After the marriage, her husband raped her again for a whole month before she decided to return home with her family. Neelam’s father works in the metal industry in Mumbai and manages to send around 2-3000 INR every month. He only visits the family once in a year. Neelam goes to school and she is studying in 11th Class Standard. She is interested in doing BA in Arts after completing her high school 12th final year.
    Sexual_Violence_India_26.JPG
  • Young women are taking part to an awareness workshop organised by Neeta Shani, from the charity PVCHR, in Parmandapur, a rural area near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. The girls are painting pro-women slogans on the walls of the local Panchayat, or village council.
    Sexual_Violence_India_25.JPG
  • Two young children are enjoying a moment together while their parents are walking around Rajbhar village, where Neelam Bharadwaj, 16, (name changed) resides with her family, around 20 kilometres away from Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Neelam was raped when she was 13 years old. After walking to a local shop on the main road neighbouring her village, she was forcibly picked up by two men. While one of them was raping her in the bushes, the other watched out. After some time, she managed to free herself and run away, hiding under a bridge in cold dirty water for several hours. When she returned home in the morning, the family was too afraid to go to the police, but activist Mangla Parsad, 34, from PVCHR, convinced the family to take the right action. The police initially insulted and threatened the family for bringing the facts up, but filed the official case (FIR) nevertheless. The rape was not mentioned in the file due to an inaccurate and superficial medical record that did not, in fact, mention it. Because of social shame facing by victims of rape in India, the family agreed to wed Neelam to an older man, with help of an agent. After the marriage, her husband raped her again for a whole month before she decided to return home with her family. Neelam’s father works in the metal industry in Mumbai and manages to send around 2-3000 INR every month. He only visits the family once in a year. Neelam goes to school and she is studying in 11th Class Standard. She is interested in doing BA in Arts after completing her high school 12th final year.
    Sexual_Violence_India_17.JPG
  • The father of Kanchan Kumari Sharma, 12, (name changed) Raja Kumar Sharma, 45, (left) a barber, earning around 150 INR a day, (3 USD) is sitting with his brother-in-law, Santosh Kumar, Verma, 42, a small businessman dealing in rice and wheat. With them are Kanchan’s eldest brother Avesh Sharma, 24 (second from right) and her older one, Ashok Sharma, 19. (second from left) In 2012, Kanchan went with a friend to bring lunch to her father, around 2 km away from her home. On the way they met Rajesh (rapist) and Ashok, a friend of his. Both girls were picked up on the spot using an excuse. Ashok drove Kanchan's friend home, but Rajesh forced Kanchan to travel with him during six days and for hundreds of kilometres across different states. (Mirzapur / Chennai / Itarsi / Bhusawal) He raped her once behind the station in Itarsi. With great effort and some coincidence, the uncle of Kanchan managed to bring her back home. Although she was scared, she insisted on going to the police to file a case (FIR). She was kept at the police station for 12 days and threatened to prevent her from filing an official case. Ashok and Rajesh are from higher caste and wealthy families. While Rajesh spent 24 days in jail initially in summer 2012, he is now a free man while the trial is still going on. Kanchan's family is now struggling to put together 30.000 Indian Rupees (500 USD) to continue battling for justice in court.
    Sexual_Violence_India_16.JPG
  • Prema, 60, the mother of Neelam, 16, is expressing suffering and struggles to Mangla Prasad, 34, the activist of PVCHR who helped the family after Neelam’s sexual abuse, in Rajbhar village, located around 20 kilometres away from Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Neelam was raped when she was 13 years old. After walking to a local shop on the main road neighbouring her village, she was forcibly picked up by two men. While one of them was raping her in the bushes, the other watched out. After some time, she managed to free herself and run away, hiding under a bridge in cold dirty water for several hours. When she returned home in the morning, the family was too afraid to go to the police, but activist Mangla Parsad, 34, from PVCHR, convinced the family to take the right action. The police initially insulted and threatened the family for bringing the facts up, but filed the official case (FIR) nevertheless. The rape was not mentioned in the file due to an inaccurate and superficial medical record that did not, in fact, mention it. Because of social shame facing by victims of rape in India, the family agreed to wed Neelam to an older man, with help of an agent. After the marriage, her husband raped her again for a whole month before she decided to return home with her family. Neelam’s father works in the metal industry in Mumbai and manages to send around 2-3000 INR every month. He only visits the family once in a year. Neelam goes to school and she is studying in 11th Class Standard. She is interested in doing BA in Arts after completing her high school 12th final year.
    Sexual_Violence_India_09.JPG
  • Afreen, 17, a member of the Red Brigades, is crying during a street play promoting awareness about women’s condition in India, on the streets of Madiyaw colony, Lucknow District, Uttar Pradesh. The Red Brigades are a group of young women led by Usha, 25, who after an attempted rape began talking about abuse with her students, aged around 14 to 18 years old. Usha founded the Red Brigades in November 2010. They perform in self-written plays on gender equality around villages and cities, take part to protests and also teach self-defence classes. Most of the girls in the group have experienced some kind of abuse in their past. They sing words such as "all sisters are breaking all the rules, boundaries, come to bring a new world, change will come," and "for how long do we have to go through this?" and "the country has freedom, but girls do not have freedom."
    Sexual_Violence_India_05.JPG
  • (name changed) Kanchan Kumari Sharma, 12, is sitting insider her home in Sersiya Kekrahi village, Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh, India. In 2012, Kanchan went with a friend to bring lunch to her father, around 2 km away from her home. On the way they met Rajesh (rapist) and Ashok, a friend of his. Both girls were picked up on the spot using an excuse. Ashok drove Kanchan's friend home, but Rajesh forced Kanchan to travel with him during six days and for hundreds of kilometres across different states. (Mirzapur / Chennai / Itarsi / Bhusawal) He raped her once behind the station in Itarsi. With great effort and some coincidence, the uncle of Kanchan managed to bring her back home. Although she was scared, she insisted on going to the police to file a case (FIR). She was kept at the police station for 12 days and threatened to prevent her from filing an official case. Ashok and Rajesh are from higher caste and wealthy families. While Rajesh spent 24 days in jail initially in summer 2012, he is now a free man while the trial is still going on. Kanchan's family is now struggling to put together 30.000 Indian Rupees (500 USD) to continue battling for justice in court.
    Sexual_Violence_India_04.JPG
  • Malti Devi, 40, a housewife and the mother of Kanchan Kumari Sharma, 12, (name changed)  is covering her head with a pink sari while standing in front of their home in Sersiya Kekrahi village, Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh, India. In 2012, Kanchan went with a friend to bring lunch to her father, around 2 km away from her home. On the way they met Rajesh (rapist) and Ashok, a friend of his. Both girls were picked up on the spot using an excuse. Ashok drove Kanchan's friend home, but Rajesh forced Kanchan to travel with him during six days and for hundreds of kilometres across different states. (Mirzapur / Chennai / Itarsi / Bhusawal) He raped her once behind the station in Itarsi. With great effort and some coincidence, the uncle of Kanchan managed to bring her back home. Although she was scared, she insisted on going to the police to file a case (FIR). She was kept at the police station for 12 days and threatened to prevent her from filing an official case. Ashok and Rajesh are from higher caste and wealthy families. While Rajesh spent 24 days in jail initially in summer 2012, he is now a free man while the trial is still going on. Kanchan's family is now struggling to put together 30.000 Indian Rupees (500 USD) to continue battling for justice in court.
    Sexual_Violence_India_03.JPG
  • Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, (centre-right) is participating to the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_27.JPG
  • Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, is completing her school homework before leaving to participate at the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_19.JPG
  • Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, is completing her school homework before leaving to participate at the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_18.JPG
  • Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, (right) is peeling potatoes inside her house, before leaving to participate at the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family. Her father, Mahesh Kashinath Pandit, 42, (left) is helping her with the food preparation.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_17.JPG
  • Anita Suresh Kasbe,  41, the Unicef community facilitator is teaching the girls attending the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_07.JPG
  • Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, (left) is participating to the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_01.JPG
  • The young nephew of Dr Lenin Raghuvanshi is standing near a Welcome sigh inside the PVCHR headquarters in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Lenin's grandfather was a freedom fighter in India's fight against the British. His father was a communist, so he names all of his children after famous communists: Mao, Che Guevara, Stalin, Lenin and Raul. Lenin used to be a doctor in Ayurveda and modern medicine but quit because of the inherent corruption he witnessed. He founded PVCHR in 1996. The charity organises workshops, supports victims during trial and with the police, and promotes education and gender equality.
    Sexual_Violence_India_44.JPG
  • (name changed) Neelam Bharadwaj, 16, (right) is preparing some rice for cooking while sitting inside her family’s home in Rajbhar village, located around 20 kilometres away from Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Neelam was raped when she was 13 years old. After walking to a local shop on the main road neighbouring her village, she was forcibly picked up by two men. While one of them was raping her in the bushes, the other watched out. After some time, she managed to free herself and run away, hiding under a bridge in cold dirty water for several hours. When she returned home in the morning, the family was too afraid to go to the police, but activist Mangla Parsad, 34, from PVCHR, convinced the family to take the right action. The police initially insulted and threatened the family for bringing the facts up, but filed the official case (FIR) nevertheless. The rape was not mentioned in the file due to an inaccurate and superficial medical record that did not, in fact, mention it. Because of social shame facing by victims of rape in India, the family agreed to wed Neelam to an older man, with help of an agent. After the marriage, her husband raped her again for a whole month before she decided to return home with her family. Neelam’s father works in the metal industry in Mumbai and manages to send around 2-3000 INR every month. He only visits the family once in a year. Neelam goes to school and she is studying in 11th Class Standard. She is interested in doing BA in Arts after completing her high school 12th final year.
    Sexual_Violence_India_28.JPG
  • Members of the Red Brigades are showing their martial arts skills on the streets of Madiyaw colony, Lucknow District, Uttar Pradesh. The Red Brigades are a group of young women led by Usha, 25, who after an attempted rape began talking about abuse with her students, aged around 14 to 18 years old. Usha founded the Red Brigades in November 2010. They act in self-written plays on gender equality around villages and cities, take part to protests and also teach self-defence classes. Most of the girls in the group have experienced some kind of abuse in their past. They sing words such as "all sisters are breaking all the rules, boundaries, come to bring a new world, change will come," and "for how long do we have to go through this?" and "the country has freedom, but girls do not have freedom."
    Sexual_Violence_India_24.JPG
  • Children are taking part to an awareness workshop organised by Neeta Shani, from the charity PVCHR, in Parmandapur, a rural area near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
    Sexual_Violence_India_19.JPG
  • Villagers are passing by a billboard advertisement boasting a sexy model on heels, on a rural road outside of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
    Sexual_Violence_India_15.JPG
  • The older sister of Neelam Bharadwaj, 16, (name changed) Sanju, 29, is carrying her youngest son, Prince Kumar, 3, while inside her family’s home in Rajbhar village, located around 20 kilometres away from Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Neelam was raped when she was 13 years old. After walking to a local shop on the main road neighbouring her village, she was forcibly picked up by two men. While one of them was raping her in the bushes, the other watched out. After some time, she managed to free herself and run away, hiding under a bridge in cold dirty water for several hours. When she returned home in the morning, the family was too afraid to go to the police, but activist Mangla Parsad, 34, from PVCHR, convinced the family to take the right action. The police initially insulted and threatened the family for bringing the facts up, but filed the official case (FIR) nevertheless. The rape was not mentioned in the file due to an inaccurate and superficial medical record that did not, in fact, mention it. Because of social shame facing by victims of rape in India, the family agreed to wed Neelam to an older man, with help of an agent. After the marriage, her husband raped her again for a whole month before she decided to return home with her family. Neelam’s father works in the metal industry in Mumbai and manages to send around 2-3000 INR every month. He only visits the family once in a year. Neelam goes to school and she is studying in 11th Class Standard. She is interested in doing BA in Arts after completing her high school 12th final year.
    Sexual_Violence_India_13.JPG
  • (name changed) Kanchan Kumari Sharma, 12, sick with fever, is lying next to her mother, Malti Devi, 40, inside their home in Sersiya Kekrahi village, Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh, India. In 2012, Kanchan went with a friend to bring lunch to her father, around 2 km away from her home. On the way they met Rajesh (rapist) and Ashok, a friend of his. Both girls were picked up on the spot using an excuse. Ashok drove Kanchan's friend home, but Rajesh forced Kanchan to travel with him during six days and for hundreds of kilometres across different states. (Mirzapur / Chennai / Itarsi / Bhusawal) He raped her once behind the station in Itarsi. With great effort and some coincidence, the uncle of Kanchan managed to bring her back home. Although she was scared, she insisted on going to the police to file a case (FIR). She was kept at the police station for 12 days and threatened to prevent her from filing an official case. Ashok and Rajesh are from higher caste and wealthy families. While Rajesh spent 24 days in jail initially in summer 2012, he is now a free man while the trial is still going on. Kanchan's family is now struggling to put together 30.000 Indian Rupees (500 USD) to continue battling for justice in court.
    Sexual_Violence_India_11.JPG
  • Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, (centre) is participating to the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family. The adolescents are playing a game of trust, confidence and memory, by walking over the bottles - first seeing normally - and then using a blindfold to stimulate the other senses.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_23.JPG
  • Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, (left) is completing her school homework before leaving to participate at the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_16.JPG
  • Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, (centre) is participating to the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family. The adolescents are playing a game of trust, confidence and memory, by walking over the bottles - first seeing normally - and then using a blindfold to stimulate the other senses.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_08.JPG
  • Anita Suresh Kasbe,  41, the Unicef community facilitator is greeting the girls attending the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Here, Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, (behind the facilitator) she resides with her family.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_05.JPG
  • Mayuri Mahesh Pandit, 13, (centre) is participating to the Unicef-run 'Deepshikha Prerika' project inside the Milind Nagar Pipeline Area, an urban slum on the outskirts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, where she resides with her family. The adolescents are playing a game of trust, confidence and memory, by walking over the bottles - first seeing normally - and then using a blindfold to stimulate the other senses.
    UNICEF_Project_India_Mumbai_2013_03.JPG
  • PVCHR activist Mangla Parsad, 34, is talking to villagers in Rajbhar village, around 20 kilometres from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
    Sexual_Violence_India_39.JPG
  • Neeta Shani, (centre) is speaking at an awareness workshop or youngsters organised by the charity PVCHR, in Parmandapur, a rural area near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
    Sexual_Violence_India_30.JPG
  • Kanchan Kumari Sharma, 12, (centre) is taking care of her young niece, while sitting next to her father, Raja Kumar Sharma, 45, (left) inside their home in Sersiya Kekrahi village, Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh, India. In 2012, Kanchan went with a friend to bring lunch to her father, around 2 km away from her home. On the way they met Rajesh (rapist) and Ashok, a friend of his. Both girls were picked up on the spot using an excuse. Ashok drove Kanchan's friend home, but Rajesh forced Kanchan to travel with him during six days and for hundreds of kilometres across different states. (Mirzapur / Chennai / Itarsi / Bhusawal) He raped her once behind the station in Itarsi. With great effort and some coincidence, the uncle of Kanchan managed to bring her back home. Although she was scared, she insisted on going to the police to file a case (FIR). She was kept at the police station for 12 days and threatened to prevent her from filing an official case. Ashok and Rajesh are from higher caste and wealthy families. While Rajesh spent 24 days in jail initially in summer 2012, he is now a free man while the trial is still going on. Kanchan's family is now struggling to put together 30.000 Indian Rupees (500 USD) to continue battling for justice in court.
    Sexual_Violence_India_22.JPG
  • Usha, 25, (left) and two other members of the Red Brigades are sitting inside Usha’s home in Madiyaw colony, Lucknow District, Uttar Pradesh. The Red Brigades are a group of young women led by Usha, 25, who after an attempted rape began talking about abuse with her students, aged around 14 to 18 years old. Usha founded the Red Brigades in November 2010. They act in self-written plays on gender equality around villages and cities, take part to protests and also teach self-defence classes. Most of the girls in the group have experienced some kind of abuse in their past. They sing words such as "all sisters are breaking all the rules, boundaries, come to bring a new world, change will come," and "for how long do we have to go through this?" and "the country has freedom, but girls do not have freedom."
    Sexual_Violence_India_12.JPG
  • Youngsters on the streets of the impoverished neighbourhood of Heideveld, Cape Town, RSA. Here showing Marijuana worth 50 Rands (about 50 pence). With extremely high rates of unemployment, poor resources and too little authority control, ghettos as Heideveld are the best places for gangs to grow in activity and businesses. Targeting mostly young people from their area to carry on the ?dirty job?, gangs in the Western Cape, and South Africa are an endemic problem in continuous increase in the years after the radical apartheid governmental system. ?Coloured? communities have lost almost all their help from a government that now is concentrated on empowering black communities instead. Segregated into ghettos and without state grants or development activities, people in these community are sometimes forced to join a gang or dealing drugs also to provide for their own family. Young gangster are also used for the worst crimes by the fact that, being still under 18 years old, they would face shorter sentences if caught. Drug abuse between kids as young as 12 is not uncommon, especially crystal meth, mandrax and marijuana.
    Marvin_Gangster_Redemption_06.JPG
  • Youngsters on the streets of the impoverished neighbourhood of Heideveld, Cape Town, RSA. Francis, a woman living in the area from 40 years is on the back; she has witnessed and has been threatened by the wave of violence affecting these communities. Her grandson, who was part of a gang in the area has been shot three times in front of her house by the common drive-by-shootings carried on by rival gangs in the neighbouring areas. Being in so close contact with members of gangs and criminal activity, youngsters are those who are most tempted to join a gang, which most of the time is also probably composed by friends and others living in the community. Making errands or favours to gang members is also common to the younger kids in these areas which are lured by the apparently easy gains deriving from the activity.  With extremely high rates of unemployment, poor resources and too little authority control, ghettos as Heideveld are the best places for gangs to grow in activity and businesses. Targeting mostly young people from their area to carry on the 'dirty job', gangs in the Western Cape, and South Africa are an endemic problem in continuous increase in the years after the radical apartheid governmental system. 'Coloured' communities have lost almost all their help from a government that now is concentrated on empowering black communities instead. Segregated into ghettos and without state grants or development activities, people in these communities are sometimes forced to join a gang or dealing drugs also to provide for their own family. Young gangster are also used for the worst crimes by the fact that, being still under 18 years old, they would face shorter sentences if caught. Drug abuse between kids as young as 12 is not uncommon, especially crystal meth, mandrax and marijuana.
    Marvin_Gangster_Redemption_14.JPG
  • A pill of Mandrax (methaqualone). Initially marketed as a sedative or sleeping tablet by the French pharmaceutical giant Roussell Laboratories, it turned out to be highly addictive and banned in 1977. Sold illegally in South Africa, it is smoked in conjunction with Marijuana and it is the most widely used drug in the Western Cape, sold at about 30 Rands (about 3 UK pounds) per tablet. It is crushed and smoked in pipes or bottlenecks. It makes the user feel relaxed, clam and peaceful and everything looks perfect, while turning aggressive when the effect is wearing off. It requires increased usage in order to achieve the same effects and depression feelings are not uncommon with use. According to the Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre (CTDCC) it is a really difficult habit to break in impoverished communities where young unemployed are left on their own with no government help or other activities apart from crime and gansgterism. Social injustice, weakened family links and a feeling of 'not-belonging' are also causes of problems upon the 'coloured' communities in South Africa.
    Marvin_Gangster_Redemption_05.JPG
  • Marvin, 20 years old, former gangster, teaching a life orientation lesson to young neglected youngsters in the School of Hope in Athlone, Cape Town, RSA, where troubled young kids at risk are getting education (run by Thembalitsha.org.za a local NGO). Marvin was a hit-man, working also for different gang such as 'The Americans' and the 'Junior Mafia' between the age of 15 and 19. He grow up in the mainly 'coloured' area of  Heideveld, where unemployment is rife and gangs are flourishing. He was also addicted by crystal meth (aka 'tik'), a dangerous chemical drug very common in South Africa's poorest neighbourhoods. Thanks to his family, after having been to reformatory, he was helped to get out of the gangs and to join a free academy for skills development aimed at empowering troubled youths through training and discipline, called Chrysalis (www.chrysalisacademy.org.za). He finished a three month course there and he is now about to  start working in the tourism industry; he know the wrongs has done and he does not want to go back to that life anymore. Chrysalis aim at reducing the levels of crime and violence in the Western Cape by transforming 'youth at risk' into strong, positive community leaders of the future through intensive continuous training. ?After I left the gang I was working for in the Woodstock area of Cape Town I have made myself some enemies; I cannot go back there anymore because someone has still anger left for me?I don?t want that life anymore, I want to live peacefully and fulfil my aspirations, you see: it is a matter of having little short-term goals, once you have achieved one you go onto the next, and so on. Always think you can do it, don?t give up, go for it again. I was running in dark corners, there was no way out, I did not have a goal, I had no dreams. You need to believe that you are worthwhile. Life is hard, it depends on you on how you want to make your life. Make everyday your day."
    Marvin_Gangster_Redemption_02.JPG
  • Marvin, 20 years old, former gangster, by a wall of a school close to the impoverished area of Heideveld, Cape Town, RSA. Marvin was a hit-man, working also for different gangs such as 'The Americans' and the 'Junior Mafia' between the age of 15 and 19. He grow up in the mainly 'coloured' area of  Heideveld, where unemployment is rife and gangs are flourishing. He was also addicted by Crystal Meth (aka 'tik'), a dangerous chemical drug very common in South Africa's poorest neighbourhoods. Thanks to his family he was helped to get out of the gangs and to join a free academy for skills development aimed at empowering troubled youths through training and discipline, called Chrysalis (www.chrysalisacademy.org.za). He finished a three month course there and he is now about to  start working in the tourism industry; he know the wrongs has done and he does not want to go back to that life anymore. Chrysalis aim at reducing the levels of crime and violence in the Western Cape by transforming 'youth at risk' into strong, positive community leaders of the future through intensive continuous training. Marvin is actually heading life orientation lessons to institutes as the School of Hope, in Athlone, Cape Town, where troubled young kids at risk are getting education (run by Thembalitsha.org.za a local NGO).
    Marvin_Gangster_Redemption_01.JPG
  • Youngsters exposing his 'East Coast Gang' tattoo on the streets of the impoverished neighbourhood of Heideveld, Cape Town, RSA. Membership to a gang most of the times imply having their tattoo marked on the body, using hand signs and speaking particular slang, in accordance with the area and the different gang, apart from carrying on criminal activities and fight with rivals. Innocent people get killed every year by gangsters believing them to be part of rival gangs because of the language just learnt on the streets.
    Marvin_Gangster_Redemption_13.jpg
  • Youngsters smoking Mandrax (methaqualone) and Marijuana in their backgarden, in Cape Town, RSA. Initially marketed as a sedative or sleeping tablet by the French pharmaceutical giant Roussell Laboratories, it turned out to be highly addictive and banned in 1977. Sold illegally in South Africa, it is smoked in conjunction with Marijuana and it is the most widely used drug in the Western Cape, sold at about 30 Rands (about 3 UK pounds) per tablet. It is crushed and smoked in pipes or bottlenecks. It makes the user feel relaxed, clam and peaceful and everything looks perfect, while turning aggressive when the effect is wearing off. It requires increased usage in order to achieve the same effects and depression feelings are not uncommon with use. According to the Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre (CTDCC) it is a really difficult habit to break in impoverished communities where young unemployed are left on their own with no government help or other activities apart from crime and gansgterism. Social injustice, weakened family links and a feeling of 'not-belonging' are also causes of problems upon the 'coloured' communities in South Africa.
    Marvin_Gangster_Redemption_11.JPG
  • A dealer is making portions of Crystal Meth (aka 'tik'), an highly addictive chemical drug commonly used in impoverished neighbourhoods in the Western Cape, RSA. Serc, 26 years old, and member of a gang in Heideveld, was shot twice in front of his house by rival gangsters. He has a wife, awaiting a third child, and two young children; with the growing unemployment in the area it has been impossible for him to provide for his family, joined a gang and started selling drugs. He is the 'main guy' in the neighbourhood and people go to him if they have a problem. "If I could find a reasonable job I would definitely quit, I know all this is not good, and it is harming our very community, but now I have to go on, I have no alternative" he says. Meth is becoming increasingly popular amongst schoolchildren and it is not difficult to find kids as young as 12 with addiction. Statistics say that over a six-month period, 94% of Meth users become addicted to it. Meth gives psychotic effects such as seeing or hearing things that are not there, and it is incline to induce violent behaviour. Meth is common between gang members, it is ideal to prepare a gun-man to hit, removing inhibitions, sharpening senses and fuelling aggression. It is easily smoked in pipes or bulbs, and it does not require a laboratory to be produced: in fact, having the right substances, it can be made even in a kitchen. High availability together with the really cheap price of 30-40 Rands per straw ( about 3-4 UK pounds) is helping to increase the abuse of this dangerous substance. Dealing Meth is also a very lucrative business which can turn a 2000 Rands (200 UK pounds) investment into 5000 Rands (500 UK pounds) in a short time. Tolerance develops quickly and higher doses are soon needed to obtain the same effect on the body.
    Marvin_Gangster_Redemption_10.JPG
  • Crystal Meth (aka 'tik'), an highly addictive chemical drug commonly used in impoverished neighbourhoods in the Western Cape, RSA. Meth is becoming increasingly popular amongst schoolchildren and it is not difficult to find kids as young as 12 with addiction. Statistics say that over a six month period, 94% of Meth users become addicted to it. Meth gives psychotic effects such as seeing or hearing things that are not there, and it is incline to induce violent behaviour. Meth is common between gang members, it is ideal to prepare a gun-man to hit, removing inhibitions, sharpening senses and fuelling aggression. It is easily smoked in pipes or bulbs, and it does not require a laboratory to be produced: in fact, having the right substances, it can be made even in a kitchen. High availability together with the really cheap price of 30-40 Rands per straw ( about 3-4 UK pounds) is helping to increase the abuse of this dangerous substance. Dealing Meth is also a very lucrative business which can turn a 2000 Rands (200 UK pounds) investment into 5000 Rands (500 UK pounds) in a short time. Tolerance develops quickly and higher doses are soon needed to obtain the same effect on the body. Chronic abuse can lead to out-of-control rages, violence, anxiety, confusion and mood disturbances. Meth affects many parts of the central neurous system and if prolonged it does not only affects behaviour but literally changes the brain in fundamental and longstanding ways.
    Marvin_Gangster_Redemption_09.JPG
  • Youngsters exposing their tattoos ('STK Gang' and 'NOLA') on the streets of the impoverished neighbourhood of Heideveld, Cape Town, RSA. Membership to a gang most of the times imply having their tattoo marked on the body, using hand signs and speaking particular slang, in accordance with the area and the different gang, apart from carrying on criminal activities and fight with rivals. Innocent people get killed every year by gangsters believing them to be part of rival gangs because of the language just learnt on the streets.
    Marvin_Gangster_Redemption_07.JPG
  • Youngsters on the streets of the impoverished neighbourhood of Heideveld, Cape Town, RSA. Here in front of their house. (Marvin in the middle and former gangster Fuad on the right). Being in so close contact with members of gangs and criminal activity, youngsters are those who are most tempted to join a gang, which most of the time is also probably composed by friends and others living in the community. Making errands or favours to gang members is also common to the younger kids (?wannabes?) in these areas which are lured by the apparently easy gains deriving from the activity.  With extremely high rates of unemployment, poor resources and too little authority control, ghettos as Heideveld are the best places for gangs to grow in activity and businesses. Targeting mostly young people from their area to carry on the ?dirty job?, gangs in the Western Cape, and South Africa are an endemic problem in continuous increase in the years after the radical apartheid governmental system. ?Coloured? communities have lost almost all their help from a government that now is concentrated on empowering black communities instead. Segregated into ghettos and without state grants or development activities, people in these communities are sometimes forced to join a gang or dealing drugs also to provide for their own family. Young gangster are also used for the worst crimes by the fact that, being still under 18 years old, they would face shorter sentences if caught. Drug abuse between kids as young as 12 is not uncommon, especially crystal meth, mandrax and marijuana.
    Marvin_Gangster_Redemption_04.JPG
  • A youngster is smoking Mandrax (methaqualone) mixed with Marijuana in Heideveld, Cape Town, RSA.  Initially marketed as a sedative or sleeping tablet by the French pharmaceutical giant Roussell Laboratories, it turned out to be highly addictive and banned in 1977. Sold illegally in South Africa, it is smoked in conjunction with Marijuana and it is the most widely used drug in the Western Cape, sold at about 30 Rands (about 3 UK pounds) per tablet. It is crushed and smoked in pipes or bottlenecks. It makes the user feel relaxed, clam and peaceful and everything looks perfect, while turning aggressive when the effect is wearing off. It requires increased usage in order to achieve the same effects and depression feelings are not uncommon with use. According to the Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre (CTDCC) it is a really difficult habit to break in impoverished communities where young unemployed are left on their own with no government help or other activities apart from crime and gansgterism. Social injustice, weakened family links and a feeling of 'not-belonging' are also causes of problems upon the ?coloured? communities in South Africa.
    Marvin_Gangster_Redemption_03.JPG
  • Marvin, 20 years old, former gangster, teaching a life orientation lesson to young neglected youngsters in the School of Hope in Athlone, Cape Town, RSA, where troubled young kids at risk are getting education (run by Thembalitsha.org.za a local NGO). Marvin was a hit-man, working also for different gang such as 'The Americans' and the 'Junior Mafia' between the age of 15 and 19. He grow up in the mainly 'coloured' area of  Heideveld, where unemployment is rife and gangs are flourishing. He was also addicted by crystal meth (aka 'tik'), a dangerous chemical drug very common in South Africa's poorest neighbourhoods. Thanks to his family, after having been to reformatory, he was helped to get out of the gangs and to join a free academy for skills development aimed at empowering troubled youths through training and discipline, called Chrysalis (www.chrysalisacademy.org.za). He finished a three month course there and he is now about to  start working in the tourism industry; he know the wrongs has done and he does not want to go back to that life anymore. Chrysalis aim at reducing the levels of crime and violence in the Western Cape by transforming 'youth at risk' into strong, positive community leaders of the future through intensive continuous training. ?After I left the gang I was working for in the Woodstock area of Cape Town I have made myself some enemies; I cannot go back there anymore because someone has still anger left for me?I don?t want that life anymore, I want to live peacefully and fulfil my aspirations, you see: it is a matter of having little short-term goals, once you have achieved one you go onto the next, and so on. Always think you can do it, don?t give up, go for it again. I was running in dark corners, there was no way out, I did not have a goal, I had no dreams. You need to believe that you are worthwhile. Life is hard, it depends on you on how you want to make your life. Make everyday your day."
    Marvin_Gangster_Redemption_16.jpg
  • Youngster smoking Mandrax (methaqualone) and Marijuana in a bottleneck, in Heideveld, CapeTown, RSA. Initially marketed as a sedative or sleeping tablet by the French pharmaceutical giant Roussell Laboratories, it turned out to be highly addictive and banned in 1977. Sold illegally in South Africa, it is smoked in conjunction with Marijuana and it is the most widely used drug in the Western Cape, sold at about 30 Rands (about 3 UK pounds) per tablet. It is crushed and smoked in pipes or bottlenecks. It makes the user feel relaxed, clam and peaceful and everything looks perfect, while turning aggressive when the effect is wearing off. It requires increased usage in order to achieve the same effects and depression feelings are not uncommon with use. According to the Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre (CTDCC) it is a really difficult habit to break in impoverished communities where young unemployed are left on their own with no government help or other activities apart from crime and gansgterism. Social injustice, weakened family links and a feeling of 'not-belonging' are also causes of problems upon the 'coloured' communities in South Africa.
    Marvin_Gangster_Redemption_12.JPG
  • Youngsters on the streets of the impoverished neighbourhood of Heideveld, Cape Town, RSA. Here in front of their house. Being in so close contact with members of gangs and criminal activity, youngsters are those who are most tempted to join a gang, which most of the time is also probably composed by friends and others living in the community. Making errands or favours to gang members is also common to the younger kids in these areas which are lured by the apparently easy gains deriving from the activity.  With extremely high rates of unemployment, poor resources and too little authority control, ghettos as Heideveld are the best places for gangs to grow in activity and businesses. Targeting mostly young people from their area to carry on the 'dirty job', gangs in the Western Cape, and South Africa are an endemic problem in continuous increase in the years after the radical apartheid governmental system. 'Coloured' communities have lost almost all their help from a government that now is concentrated on empowering black communities instead. Segregated into ghettos and without state grants or development activities, people in these communities are sometimes forced to join a gang or dealing drugs also to provide for their own family. Young gangster are also used for the worst crimes by the fact that, being still under 18 years old, they would face shorter sentences if caught. Drug abuse between kids as young as 12 is not uncommon, especially crystal meth, mandrax and marijuana.
    Marvin_Gangster_Redemption_08.JPG
  • Youngsters participating to the ultra-nationalistic Azovets children's camp are eating breakfast together, on the banks of the Dnieper river in Kiev, Ukraine's capital.
    034_Nationalists_Children_Ukraine.JPG
  • Youngsters participating to the ultra-nationalistic Azovets children's camp are playing around military vehicles, in exposition on site on the banks of the Dnieper river, in Kiev, Ukraine's capital.
    030_Nationalists_Children_Ukraine.JPG
  • Youngsters participating to the ultra-nationalistic Azovets children's camp are holding a combat position with a wooden rifle, during tactical training on the banks of the Dnieper river, in Kiev, Ukraine's capital.
    013_Nationalists_Children_Ukraine.JPG
  • Ritu Gaur, 13, is sitting in her family home in Chittawaliya village, rural Sehore. Ritu lives in the Jamoniya Tank Girls Hostel by her school, near Sehore, Madhya Pradesh, India, where the Unicef India Sport For Development Project has started in 2012. Covering 313 state-run girls’ hostels and 207 mixed hostels in Madhya Pradesh, the project ensures that children from Scheduled Tribes (ST) and others amongst the poorest people in India, can easily access education and be introduced to sports. Field workers from Unicef also oversee their nutrition and monitor the overall conditions of each pupil.
    Unicef_Sport_For_Development_MP_Indi...JPG
  • A young man participating to the ultra-nationalistic Azovets children's camp is coughing hard during a physical and tactical training involving an obstacle course in a forest near the village of Buzova, 30 km west of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.
    Children_of_Azov_Ukraine_06.JPG
  • A young man participating to the ultra-nationalistic Azovets children's camp is yelling energetically while being emotionally charged by his instructor, during a tactical training in a forest near the village of Buzova, 30 km west of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.
    Children_of_Azov_Ukraine_05.JPG
  • Youngsters participating to the ultra-nationalistic Azovets children's camp are taking part to a tactical training with dummy weapons in an abandoned building near the village of Buzova, 30 km west of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.
    Children_of_Azov_Ukraine_03.JPG
  • A young boy participating to the ultra-nationalistic Azovets children's camp is being disciplined and required to hold a genuine assault rifle over his head, near the village of Buzova, 30 km west of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.
    Children_of_Azov_Ukraine_02.JPG
  • At the call of a team's leader, youngsters participating to the ultra-nationalistic Azovets children's camp are responding with their slogan during a daily ceremony on the banks of the Dnieper river, in Kiev, Ukraine's capital.
    Children_of_Azov_Ukraine_01.JPG
  • A young boy participating to the ultra-nationalistic Azovets children's camp is holding a kalashnikov rifle and learning about its basic maintenance and care, on the banks of the Dnieper river in Kiev, Ukraine's capital.
    001_Nationalists_Children_Ukraine.JPG
  • Youngsters participating to the ultra-nationalistic Azovets children's camp are testing their laser-guns ahead of a teams battle, on the banks of the Dnieper river, in Kiev, Ukraine's capital.
    025_Nationalists_Children_Ukraine.JPG
  • Youngsters participating to the ultra-nationalistic Azovets children's camp are having fun sunbathing on the grass, after tactical training on the banks of the Dnieper river, in Kiev, Ukraine's capital.
    020_Nationalists_Children_Ukraine.JPG
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