"Popa’s photographs are a powerful enquiry into a pervasive form of violence against women. They are a tragic reminder of just how vulnerable and powerless women are globally, and expose the futility of universal declarations". So declares Mark Sealy, director of Autograph-ABP, who will be moderating this event featuring Romanian photographer Dana Popa.

By photographically documenting the experiences of sex-trafficked Moldovan women, Popa has drawn attention to an issue of slavery, immorality and shocking exploitation. Moldova is one of the main source countries for trafficking women and children, up to 10% of the female population are sold into prostitution abroad.

Popa worked with International Organisation for Migration and Winrock International in Moldova, where she documented the disturbing experiences of these women. Finally, she captured the spaces where trafficked women are forced into prostitution in the brothels of Soho, London. Her project and book entitled not Natasha, after the nickname Eastern European prostitutes are often labelled with, takes an in-depth look at the hopes, fears and sorrows of the women and families she met. With the help of her poignant pictures, Popa will speak at the Frontline Club about how not Natasha came about, the issues it involves and her experiences as a photographer.

For more information about the project, follow this link, or read a Frontline Forum Blog post about Popa's work.

Tags for this entry: campaign, EasternEurope, MarkSealy, Moldova, Photography, Sextrafficking

2 Comments

Vitalie | May 14, 2010 2:22 PM

Dear Frontline Club

I wanted to draw your attention to the fact that the text you included on this page seems to be incorrect. Specifically, affirming that 10% of Moldovan female population is sold into prostitution abroad. This figure is probably based on the link provided by Wikipedia, found here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_trafficking#cite_note-73

However, the sources cited on Wikipedia site are not providing any proof of such figure. Claiming this figure is a sensitive matter for Moldovans, and I would suggest you research and speculate with such figures only based on reports from verified sources.

Thank you.

Flora Carmichael replied to comment from Vitalie | May 14, 2010 2:51 PM

Dear Vitalie,

Thank you for your comment.
In the text above, it states that "up to 10%", not "10% exactly", of Moldovan women are sold into prostitution abroad. Nobody knows the true figures as this illegal trade goes on, by definition, in the shadow economy.

I admit that I Tweeted from the Frontline account making the false assertion that 10% of Moldovan women are sold into prostitution abroad and I now retract this statement and will delete this Tweet. The "up to 10%" claim was made in the press release for Dana's project "not Natasha" written by Impressions Gallery and Autograph-ABP.

I do beg your pardon for any offense caused and hope you'll be able to make it to the Club tonight to discuss this important issue.

Yours,
Flora Carmichael.