Photographer Journeys Inside the Casa Xochiquetzal Retirement Home for Sex Workers Chris Kitching - Mirror UK
go to original January 11, 2017

One of the residents of the shelter in Mexico City (Benedicte Desrus)

These are some of the intimate portraits captured by a French photographer who spent nearly a decade documenting the lives of former sex workers.

The snaps were taken at a government-run retirement shelter for elderly women who have escaped prostitution and the violence and exploitation that comes with it.

One of the women applies makeup to her face (Benedicte Desrus)

Benedicte Desrus photographed women aged 55 and older at Casa Xochiquetzal in Mexico City as part of an eight-year project.

The home provides safety and dignity for some of the capital's most vulnerable residents, who spent nearly their entire adult lives on the streets and were constantly at risk of danger.

The women allowed the photographer to capture their daily routines (Benedicte Desrus)

Mr Desrus' photos, taken from 2008 top 2016, were published in a book called Las Amorosas Mas Bravas (The Toughest Lovers), which was co-authored with writer Celia Gomez Ramos.

Casa Xochiquetzal is located in a bustling, run-down neighbourhood near Mexico City's historic city centre, Ms Ramos wrote.

Some of the photographer's images were featured in a book (Benedicte Desrus)

Read the rest at and see photos at Mirror UK

Related: Tough Love for Retired Sex Workers at Mexico City's Casa Xochiquetzal (Creative Time Reports)

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