Photo credit by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images
While it’s been an illuminating and tumultuous week for Hollywood, the hard conversations on sexual abuse have sparked many in the fashion industry to speak up as well. Yesterday model and activist Cameron Russell chose to use her Instagram as an anonymous forum for models and former assistants alike to tell their stories of being violated. “A brave model (and friend) reached out to me with her story today,” Russell explained. “She has asked to remain anonymous but asked that I share her words here because the photographer still works in the industry. She wants to encourage other women to speak up. We need a way to begin breaking the silence while remaining protected.” The anonymous postings display a chilling correlation to the culture of misconduct many actresses described and the enabling of the sweeping under the rug behavior. “We are not talking about one, five, or even twenty men. We are talking about a culture of exploitation and it must stop.”