SOS Dignity was conceived by International Lawyer, Criminologist, Photographer and Human Rights Activist, Barry Michael Wolfe, with the aim of retrieving the dignity of Brazil’s transvestites.
Travestis – people who were born men and present themselves as women – are the single most marginalized group in Brazil. Travestis are vulnerable to exploitation by clients, pimps and traffickers, not to mention arbitrary violence from police, organized crime, clients and the general public.
The travestis’ subculture is “pre-political”: below the level of protection of both local and international laws. Effectively, their plight does not reach the agenda of law enforcement agencies and NGOs dealing with human trafficking and slavery. Consequently, attempts to attack exploitation and trafficking through political or legal action tend to result in further suffering by the victims.
SOS DIGNITY was therefore conceived to pursue human rights activism through emergency legal and health protection (physical and mental), education, employability and dignity enhancement.
SOS Dignity began in 2005 as a photographic project, taking photos in the São Paulo underworld. These portraits were edited, developed and signed “by Michael”, and presented as gifts to the travestis who, in many instances, send them to their families, being the only dignified record they have of themselves. What started as a photographic project has in three years evolved into a human rights movement.
