The coronavirus pandemic gave rise to a pandemic of domestic violence, too. As the world was staying home, the victims remained with the aggressors behind closed doors. FotoFabrika is turning its gaze upon this topic showing pictures from three striking series from the FotoEvidence catalogue. Created by masters of photography like Anahit Hairapetyan, Vlad Sokhin and Danielle Villasana, these pictures tell the stories of female and transsexual victims of domestic violence from Papua New Guinea, Peru and Armenia.

Anahit Hayrapetyan is a photographer and a poet. She studied IT at the State Engineering University of Armenia and photojournalism at Caucasus Media Institute, as well as at Danish Media School of Journalism. Anahit Hayrapeyan got many prizes for her photography and poetry. Her works were published in Eurasianet, NYT, BBC, The Guardians and others. Anahit’s works were exhibited worldwide.

In Princess to Slave Anahit Hayrapetyan documents Armenian women affected by domestic violence. She follows the stories of five women who suffered domestic abuse, telling their stories and documenting the conditions they endure. The women in Princess to Slave range from a local women in Hayrapetyan’s own village to a woman who brought her case to court and garnered national attention to plight of women facing abusive husbands and in-laws.

Vlad Sokhin is a documentary photographer and multimedia producer. He works in the sphere of human rights, documenting a number of social, cultural and ecological issues.

He was one of the finalists for the 2012 FotoEvidence Award. The publication of his book Crying Meri caused a major international reaction and managed to provoke change in the society of Papua New Guinea yet what the photographer saw when he was documenting his series looked like this: According to statistics, two thirds of women in this country have been victims of constant domestic violence. 50% have been sexually violated. Local men do not respect their “meri” (“women” in pidgin English) and beat them, often using bushknives and axes.

Danielle Villasana is a freelance photojournalist currently living in Istanbul. She graduated in both photojournalism and Spanish at the Austin University in Texas. Her work focuses on women, identity problems, human rights and healthcare issues.

She is a finalist for the 2018 FotoEvidence and World Press Photo Award with her project Light Inside about the life of transgender women in Latin America. She follows the stories of several transgender women, many of whom have reached a tragic ending before their subjects have reached 35 years of age.

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