In early 2023, following a surge of femicides in Lima, Peruvian photographer Ana Elisa Sotelo issued an open call for women to swim in solidarity with victims of gender violence. The resulting image, titled Women's Circle, shows a group of women forming a circle in the sea, kicking and screaming in a powerful display of unity.
The Story Behind the Photograph
This photograph is part of Women of the Water, a project Sotelo began in 2022 in Puerto Natales, southern Patagonia, Chile. There, three female swimmers asked her to photograph them naked in the water, the place where they felt most powerful. Despite the near-freezing winter temperatures, the experience was one of ease and freedom.
Returning to Lima, Sotelo continued the series through open calls, expanding to Argentina, the United States, and Barbados. Women's Circle was shot in mid-March 2023, just weeks after a string of femicide cases in Lima. Anger and helplessness were prevalent, but so were sisterhood and solidarity.
Organizing the Event
Sotelo used Instagram to spread the word, and women from the swimming community helped share the call. Interested participants joined a WhatsApp group. To ensure privacy, the location and details were shared only a day or two before. Another artist, Ana De Orbegoso, created a vest reading "Alive and Fearless", which became the day's theme.
On the morning of the event, the group gathered at playa Agua Dulce, one of Lima's most popular public beaches, before dawn. Three women volunteered on paddleboards for safety. Participants were instructed to swim out to sea and remove their swimsuits in the water, which were collected by the paddleboard volunteers.
Sotelo flew a drone from the shore. In the water, everyone helped each other. Once naked, the women naturally formed a circle, and the kicking and screaming occurred spontaneously.
A Moment of Hope
After about 20 minutes of free swimming, the women retrieved their swimsuits and returned to shore. On the beach, there were smiles and excitement as some rushed to work or home, but Sotelo believes they all left feeling a little more hopeful.
Three years later, the world seems harsher, not safer. Gender-based violence remains prevalent globally, yet the urgency around these conversations has faded from the public agenda. Sotelo reflects: "I am extremely glad to share this image now, but I wonder, if I made this call today, would women still come? Or has fear grown louder than solidarity?"
Ana Elisa Sotelo is a Peruvian artist and teacher based in the United States.
