Bénédicte Desrus
Women Photograph
Mérida, Yucatan, Mexico
Bénédicte Desrus is a french award-winning documentary photographer based in Mexico City, Mexico. Her work is distributed by Sipa Press USA in New York. She has worked throughout Europe, East Africa and the Americas.
She focuses on social and human rights issues around the world. Recent projects explored the lives of elderly sex workers living in a shelter in Mexico City, the persecution of homosexuals in Uganda, the killing of albinos in Tanzania and the global obesity epidemic.
Her work has appeared in: NPR, Al Jazeera, National Geographic, Harper’s magazine, The New York Times, Time, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, Forbes, Saveur, Maclean’s, The Financial Times, The Sunday Times magazine, The Guardian, Le Monde, Courrier International, Internazionale, Der Spiegel, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Aftenposten, Dagens Næringsliv, De Volkskrant, Marie Claire & Grazia, among others.
An archive of all publications located here: www.benedictedesrus.contently.com
She has received commissions from a wide range of clients, such as: Adidas, NBC Universal, Ford Foundation, Morgan Stanley, DHL, Luxury Retreats, Rotary International, Néstlé, GEFCO, Ipsen, Gaz de France Foundation, Capa Pictures, Reuters-East Africa, The European Commission, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNESCO, Global Fund For Women, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), WaterAid, Help Age, Population Service International (PSI), among others.
She is the co-author of the book Las amorosas más bravas (Tough Love), © 2014, Mexico. The eight-year-long project documents the day-to-day lives of the women living at Casa Xochiquetzal, a unique shelter for elderly sex workers in Mexico City.
And author of the book ARRAIGO, © 2025. Desrus portrayed the residents of the center of Mérida, Yucatán in Mexico into their homes to reflect their deep enrooting to the heart of the city. The book represents a cultural and historical heritage that contributes to the construction of the memory of the center of Mérida.
2020 - Addis Foto Fest (Ethiopia), 2018 - Indian Photography Festival – Hyderabad, 2016 - 2016 SoPhot Photo contest (France), 2016 - 2016 Pride Photo Award (The Netherlands), 2015 - 2015 Syngenta Photography Award, 2014 - The Moscow International Foto Awards (MIFA), 2013 - Humanity Photo Awards - China, 2013 - REVELA International Photography Award - Spain, 2012 - NPPA’s Best of Photojournalism, 2012 - OPEN Photo - (OSISA), 2012 - PDN Photo Annual, 2012 - Mexico Contemporary Photography Contest, 2012 - International Photography Awards , 2012 - New York Photo Awards, 2012 - New York Photo Festival, 2012 - Kuala Lumpur International Photo Awards, 2011 - Humanity Photo Awards - China, 2011 - XIV Luis Valtueña Photography Award - Spain, 2011 - Open Society Institute (OSI) , 2011 - Pride Photo Award - Amsterdam
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Casa Xochiquetzal
Bénédicte Desrus
Raquel, a resident of Casa Xochiquetzal, puts on makeup before going out to work on the streets of Mexico City on 2010. Raquel, 66, is from Michoacán and came to Casa Xochiquetzal when it first opened its doors. She wears a wig and pads her bra. Words and songs come easily to her. She has suffered from schizophrenia for 22 years, but despite hearing voices, she works hard not to lose touch with reality. As a way of earning a little money, she gathers plastic bottles to recycle. Casa Xochiquetzal is a shelter for elderly sex workers in Mexico City. It offers its residents refuge, food, health services and a place to learn about their human rights, as well as courses to help them rediscover their self-confidence and deal with traumatic aspects of their lives. Casa Xochiquetzal provides a space to age with dignity for a group of vulnerable women who are often invisible to society at large. It is the only such shelter in existence in Latin America.
