How is life after suicide? This is a documentary project, which gathers the experiences of people in Kenya who have tried to commit suicide or who have lost a loved one to suicide. Using photography I collect their testimonies throughout the country, on the stigma surrounding suicide as well as the social and legal injustice they face. According to the Kenyan Law Nº 226 of the Penal Code: ‘‘Anyone who attempts to commit suicide is guilty of a crime’’; the sentence being two years in prison or a fine or both. With this work I want to contribute to overcome the stigma associated with suicide and bring about a shift from the punitive treatment to psychosocial care, as well as to end the legal consideration of suicide as a criminal activity. Patricia Esteve
Patricia Esteve studied Philosophy in the University of Barcelona and Photography in the Institut Estudis Fotogràfics de Catalunya. She focuses her work in current social issues. In 1999 she set up on her own as a freelancer photographer and worked with national press and institutions. She combined her work with the carry out of long-term projects and participative photo workshops addressed to marginalized people. In 2011 she moved to Africa where she first worked in Chad for UNICEF and later for the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast. Nowadays she lives in Nairobi where she collaborates with different NGOs as a freelance photographer.