Ximena Borrazás Documents Warzone Sexual Violence in Tigray and Ukraine

Uruguayan photographer Ximena Borrazás documents sexual violence in armed conflicts through her ongoing project 'The Scars of the War', covering Tigray (Ethiopia) and Ukraine, with plans to include Syria and Iraq. She began in Tigray in 2024, initially intending to show the aftermath of the civil war that started in 2020. At an IDP camp, a rape survivor urged her to help, leading Borrazás to work at Ayder Hospital's One Stop Center in Mekele, which has treated some 7,000 survivors. She recorded testimonies and photographed objects—rusty screws, nail clippers—inserted into women's wombs to cause infertility, along with handwritten messages from Eritrean soldiers. After facing accusations of propaganda, she corroborated stories by photographing X-rays, which she says are undeniable. Her work gained traction in The Guardian. In Ukraine, she has documented both female and male survivors, some of whom show their faces. Borrazás aims to collect evidence for potential legal accountability. She has worked with National Geographic, Al Jazeera, and Unesco, and won the Tom Stoddart Award in 2024.