It’s painful to imagine the circumstances that have driven these women here — to the notorious outskirts of Italy, the sides of dirt roads and filthy mattresses along forest paths. While certain sex work is legal in Italy, these women endure sub-human conditions, violence and exploitation — just to get into the country, just to send some money back home. Paolo Patrizi’s photo essay Migration is part anonymous portraits of sex workers from the Edo in Nigeria, part landscapes, interrupted by unmistakable signifiers, like makeshift shelters in grass fields and piles of discarded condoms. See a few photos from this powerful essay in our gallery.
Photo credit: Paolo Patrizi
Photo credit: Paolo Patrizi
Photo credit: Paolo Patrizi
Photo credit: Paolo Patrizi
Photo credit: Paolo Patrizi
Photo credit: Paolo Patrizi
Photo credit: Paolo Patrizi
Photo credit: Paolo Patrizi
Photo credit: Paolo Patrizi
Photo credit: Paolo Patrizi