2024-04-20 18:03:02
A documentary about Inuit women who lost their ability to have children against their will brought French photographer Juliette Pavy an absolute victory in one of the largest and most prestigious photo contests in the world. The jury of the World Photography Awards awarded her the title “photographer of the year” in London. In the photo gallery, we also present pictures of other finalists of the competition who fought for the prestigious prize.
Pavyová competed for absolute victory with nine other professional photographers who won in individual categories of the Sony World Photography Awards competition. Her documentary films explore the serious and lasting consequences of involuntary medical procedures on Inuit women in the 1960s and 1970s. Schoolgirls, who had no idea what it was about, had doctors insert intrauterine devices, preventing conception, during examinations. Some of the girls were barely twelve years old.
The purpose of the interventions was allegedly to limit the rapid growth of the indigenous population in Greenland. Their number then grew rapidly thanks to better living conditions and better health care. As of 2022, the whole matter is being resolved in the Danish courts, as 143 Inuit women have filed a lawsuit seeking to find the culprits and compensation for the violation of their human rights. However, this is only a small part of the victims, because more than four thousand Greenlandic women had to undergo the forced introduction of an intrauterine device (according to the AP agency, this was half of all Inuit women of childbearing age).
The girls had no idea what it was all about, no one asked for their parents’ consent
At that time, doctors did not ask for parental consent, even though they were mostly underage girls. “I didn’t know what it was about at all, no one explained anything to me or asked for consent,” one of the victims, Naja Lyberth, told the British BBC. “I was thirteen then, I was afraid. I couldn’t tell anyone, not even my parents. I was still a virgin then.”
The experience was very traumatic for her. “I remember doctors in white coats and maybe a nurse. I saw metal things (stirrups) where you had to spread your legs. It was very scary. The equipment the doctors used was so big for my baby body – it was it’s like I have knives in me,” said Lyberth, who was the first to talk about her trauma, and her Facebook post sparked an avalanche that led to a class-action lawsuit.
The photographer talks about the victims with empathy
Juliette Pavy’s project focused on the victims who underwent the procedure and follows the consequences it brought them. Many of them lost the opportunity to have children due to health complications. He is also engaged in the investigation of this scandal. At the same time, it puts the perspective of the victims in the foreground. The series uses a variety of photographic formats; from still shots of the city of Nuuk to X-rays and archival photographs of young women who underwent the procedure, to actual portraits of the victims and the doctors who performed the IUDs on the orders of the authorities.
“I’m really honored to have been named photographer of the year,” said Pavyová. “I hope that my prize will give a voice to the women who have been silenced for almost half a century, and to all the others who are constantly fighting for their rights around the world. By telling this story, I want to raise awareness of the violence against Inuit women and the social and psychological consequences of this campaign,” she added.
The president of the Sony World Photography Awards jury, Monica Allende, praised the photographer’s empathetic approach to the subject. “She captured her subjects in a dignified yet deeply intimate way. She also showed a determination to reveal the harsh realities facing marginalized communities and a compelling storytelling approach,” she stated.
After the announcement of the results, the exhibition of the winning pictures begins in London
The results of the prestigious Sony World Photography Awards were announced on Thursday, April 18, at a gala evening in London. As part of their 17th year, a new record was set: this year, an incredible 395,000 submitted images from photographers from 220 countries and regions passed through the hands of the judges. The participation in the most important part of the competition called Professional was also the highest in history.
Photographers who submitted their series of images to the Professional competition could compete in ten categories: architecture, documentary, wildlife, landscape, creative photography, portrait, portfolio, sports, still life and environment. From the winners of these categories, the jury chose the absolute winner Juliette Pavyová.
Immediately after the announcement of the results, an exhibition of award-winning photographs began in London at the Somerset House gallery there. It will last until May 6, and then it will travel to other cities around the world.