“You trusted me. With your grant you encouraged me in continuing a work that now is international, you showed me that what I was doing was important, nonetheless the difficulties. You help me to find the ways to carry on.” – Stefania Prandi
Stefania Prandi is an Italian journalist, photographer, and one of our grantees. She has recently received the third prize in the Outstanding Investigative Reporting category at the Fetisov Journalism Award in Geneva. This prestigious recognition has been awarded for her groundbreaking work titled “The Bitter Taste of Kiwis,” an investigation she coordinated between April 2021 and April 2022 on the exploitation of Indian workers in the supply chain of kiwis produced in the Lazio region of Italy.
However, this recent achievement is just one milestone in Stefania’s career marked by a relentless pursuit of truth and justice. Since 2016, she has been shedding light on various social injustices, particularly involving women, through her journalism and photography.
Oro Rosso, The Other Side of Farmland
One of her first investigative work has been “Oro Rosso, The Other Side of Farmland” in 2016, a photographic project exposing the plight of immigrant female workers who face sexual harassment and coercion in the greenhouses and fields of Italy, where vegetables are grown for international export. These women are from Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Nigeria and India. In some regions there are also Italian workers. They are employed in several Italian areas, such as Sicily, Apulia, Lazio, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont and Lombardy. Thanks to the grant she got from The Pollination Project, she was able to start this work in Sicily and then to find more funds to continue the investigation in Morocco and Spain. Now this is a huge and an important project with an international exposure.
The Consequences
Stefania received her second grant in 2019 for “The Consequences.”a response to the sobering fact that a woman in Italy is killed every sixty hours, most often by a husband, boyfriend, or ex-partner.
“When a woman is killed at the hand of a man, not only is that life destroyed, but whole families are affected. Those dealing with the consequences are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and children. They’re the ones with shattered lives, memories kept alive by pictures, children to be lifted and comfortable, alongside the weight of the legal expenses and the humiliation in the courts, and in the media, where the behavior of the victims is questioned rather than that of the killer,” says Stefania.
Through intimate portraits, photos, objects, places, the look of someone who lives on after femicide and refuses to give in to gender-based violence, The Consequences shows a community of family members spread throughout Italy, who refuse to give in to inconsolable grief. Through their eyes, we can see the love they had for the women who were killed.
Her work not only sheds light on the individual tragedies but also underscores the ripple effects on families and communities left behind.
Committed to give voice to marginalized women
Her work to give voices to marginalized and exploited women continued in 2021 with “Bitter Strawberries” (2021) an investigation report in collaboration with Danwatch on the exploitation and abuse endured by migrant women workers in Huelva, Spain, as they labor in strawberry fields. Through meticulous investigative reporting, Prandi amplifies the voices of the marginalized, shining a spotlight on their struggles and advocating for systemic change.
Also, in 2022, “The Distant Mothers”, exposes the hidden costs of intensive agriculture, which relies on the exploitation of women in Eastern countries. Through extensive research and interviews, she unveils the harsh realities faced by these women, offering a stark portrayal of the human toll behind cheap produce.
Stefania Prandi’s tireless commitment to social justice and human rights has earned her international acclaim, with numerous awards and honors recognizing her contributions. Through her journalism and photography, she continues to challenge societal norms, amplify marginalized voices, and inspire change, especially for women. As Stefania’s work transcends borders and boundaries, her impact echoes globally, leaving an indelible mark on the world of investigative journalism. We could not be prouder to have helped her start.
To know more about her work, visit her website at https://www.stefaniaprandi.it
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