Captions

VCAO offers cooking, sewing and hairdressing classes to these girls so that when they are thrown onto the street (most of the time because the man of the house has raped them and the woman of the house thrown them onto the street), they can find work. Many families do not allow the girls to attend these classes, and others aren't even allowed to leave the house, they are kept under lock.

1. VCAO offers cooking, sewing and hairdressing classes to these girls so that when they are thrown onto the street (most of the time because the man of the house has raped them and the woman of the house thrown them onto the street), they can find work. Many families do not allow the girls to attend these classes, and others aren't even allowed to leave the house, they are kept under lock.

Finalist 2006

Seila Montes González

Feet of an exploited girl

Presentation

Girls learning a trade at a center run by the small NGO VCAO in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The girls, who come twice a week to the center, work as domestic servants in wealthy households. They are victims of exploitation: most of them are not paid; they work day and night for room and board. The lucky ones receive 5 dollars a month.

Biography

I am a Spanish photojournalist based in México city. In 2007 I graduated from the London College of Communication in photojournalism and documentary photography.

My work focus on disadvantaged minorities as well as environmental issues. I have published in different publications as, The Guardian, The New York Times, El País América, Huck magazine, Cuartoscuro, Life, and Style...

Currently, I work as a freelance for El País América.