{"id":107824,"date":"2018-07-23T12:00:11","date_gmt":"2018-07-23T16:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/?p=107824"},"modified":"2021-01-14T12:24:05","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T17:24:05","slug":"meet-the-model-initiatives-looking-to-keep-models-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/meet-the-model-initiatives-looking-to-keep-models-safe\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Model Initiatives Looking To Keep Models Safe"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>\n.centerimg {padding:4em 7em;margin:20px 0;}\n.centerimg img {margin-bottom:0px;}\n.instagram-media {margin:auto !important;}\n.initiativetitle {font-size: 2.5em; margin: 45px; text-align: center; color:red;}\n#wp-content hr {margin: 40px auto 80px auto;width: 60%;}\n<\/style>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/?attachment_id=107928\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-107928\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/hp.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1449\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-107928\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/hp.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/hp-640x464.jpg 640w, https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/hp-1280x927.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/hp-900x652.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<small>Photo by Joe Maher\/BFC\/Getty Images<\/small><\/p>\n<p>The industry is broken when it comes to protecting models, and in the righteous wake of #MeToo, an increasing number of voices are speaking out on issues that have long been ignored.<\/p>\n<p>The issues at hand for models in particular\u2014a lack of control over one\u2019s own finances, sexual harassment and assault, pressures to meet extreme, unhealthy physical standards\u2014are deep, and let\u2019s be honest, nothing new. The Model Alliance\u2019s <a href=\"\/\/models.com\/models\/sara-ziff\">Sara Ziff<\/a> has been working to protect her fellow models and create a more equitable system since founding her organization in February 2012. On top of her advocacy, Model Alliance launched the heavily supported, worker-driven <a href=\"http:\/\/programforrespect.org\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">RESPECT Program<\/a> which aims to curb sexual and financial exploitation. She\u2019s not alone, although oftentimes it may have felt like it.<\/p>\n<p>Others have risen to the calls of accountability in their own native homelands. There\u2019s newcomer <a href=\"\/\/models.com\/models\/ekaterina-ozhiganova\">Ekaterina Ozhiganova<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/modellawunion\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Model Law<\/a>, who is working to reexamine the legal status of models in France so that models have basic benefits awarded to full-time employees. In the UK, nutritionist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.epjhealth.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Elizabeth Peyton-Jones<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.modelstrust.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Responsible Trust for Models<\/a>, is working from an outsider&#8217;s perspective to create global certification for modeling agencies. Models.com spoke to the heads of all three initiatives along with several outspoken models themselves, to talk more about what needs to change, how individuals can instigate real movement, and what\u2019s next on the horizon for fair treatment.<\/p>\n<hr  \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>By Ashley W. Simpson<\/strong><br \/>\nEdited by <a href=\"\/\/models.com\/people\/irene-ojo-felix\">Irene Ojo-Felix<\/a><\/p>\n<p>About two months ago, Sara Ziff launched the <a href=\"http:\/\/programforrespect.org\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">RESPECT Program<\/a> with <a href=\"http:\/\/modelalliance.org\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Model Alliance<\/a>, which seeks to end sexual harassment of models and calls on brands, publishing companies, and agencies to sign a legally binding agreement to uphold certain enforceable standards. The call comes directly from the models themselves to the parties holding the veneer of corporate responsibility. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince October, with the allegations against Harvey Weinstein sort of catalyzing everyone in this discussion around #MeToo and Times Up, the industry has had to recognize and reckon with the realities that I and the Model Alliance have been working to address for several years now,\u201d related Ziff to Models.com. \u201cNone of this has been news to us or surprising at all. The difference is that it\u2019s become a national discussion and our industry really has to address these concerns in a meaningful way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>RESPECT comes after the Model Alliance\u2019s introduction of the <a href=\"http:\/\/nyassembly.gov\/mem\/Nily-Rozic\/story\/77731\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Model Harassment Protection Act<\/a>, a proposed bill which would give models protection against harassment in New York. \u201cBecause of the multi-level structure of hiring between models, agencies, and clients, through this bill, we\u2019re trying to clarify where legal liability falls in respect to sexual harassment occurring in our industry and our goal is to afford models basic protections,\u201d said Ziff. \u201cThat said, we know that legal protections alone are not enough and to address sexual misconduct and other issues, we really need to educate all parties so they know their rights and responsibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"centerimg\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/Sara-Ziff_Headshot-1_Kreg-Holt.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2545\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-107895\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/Sara-Ziff_Headshot-1_Kreg-Holt.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/Sara-Ziff_Headshot-1_Kreg-Holt-503x640.jpg 503w, https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/Sara-Ziff_Headshot-1_Kreg-Holt-1006x1280.jpg 1006w, https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/Sara-Ziff_Headshot-1_Kreg-Holt-900x1145.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><br \/>\n<small>Sara Ziff by Kreg Holt<\/small>\n<\/div>\n<p>Ziff and her fellow board members held listening sessions with models in New York and Los Angeles, and worked with Suzanne Goldberg, a senior administrator at Columbia University, along with a team of law students at Fordham Law School, and researchers at Harvard and Northeastern Universities to help develop the RESPECT program along with individual legislative bills leading up to it. \u201cIt\u2019s the only program that models had a central hand in designing and that a large number of models are supporting,\u201d said Ziff. \u201cWe obviously know our concerns more than anyone and have the greatest incentive for [change.]\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve seen LVMH and Kering issue their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lvmh.com\/news-documents\/press-releases\/lvmh-and-kering-have-drawn-up-a-charter-on-working-relations-with-fashion-models-and-their-well-being\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">models charter<\/a><\/a> and Cond\u00e9 Nast has put forth a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.condenast.com\/press\/statement-from-conde-nast\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Vendor Code of Conduct<\/a>, and although these are good first steps, a code of conduct that is voluntary when there are no proper complaint mechanisms is not going to be meaningful,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s important to make the distinction between legally binding commitments and voluntary standards and associations. Virtually every company in the corporate world has had voluntary standards for decades, and what has that done?\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>All of these issues are really interrelated and are symptomatic of a bigger problem, which is the power imbalance between the models on the one hand and agencies and clients on the other<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Prior to developing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/explore\/tags\/time4respect\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#TimeForRESPECT<\/a>, Ziff and the Model Alliance issued a survey asking models about whether or not they\u2019re given meals and breaks on the job, if they\u2019ve experienced sexual harassment, when they are paid, if they were provided private changing rooms and more. \u201cAll of these issues are really interrelated and are symptomatic of a bigger problem, which is the power imbalance between the models on the one hand and agencies and clients on the other,\u201d said Ziff. \u201cSo, our program is global in scope, but it also aims to tackle all of these concerns by working with affiliated businesses who publicly commit to the core principles of dignity and would enter into a binding agreement to ensure enforcement of the program&#8217;s standards.\u201d Freelancers and creative agencies will be required to comply with the code in order to do business with the participants who have signed on.  <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a stand-alone initiative which for it to be effective needs to reach models all over the globe,\u201d explained Ziff, who was joined by over 100 models including Gisele B\u00fcndchen, Edie Campbell, Karen Elson, and Doutzen Kroes in the launch of RESPECT, with more models signing on since the program\u2019s introduction. The program asks industry stakeholders to sign on and agree to be regulated by an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to auditing the RESPECT program solely; if there are complaints it will interview all parties and review evidence before making recommended steps. Parties who are not compliant may be suspended from the program upon further investigation. Ziff added that the investigative process is internal for those who sign onto the program: they do not take the accused to court on behalf of the models, but rather hope to provide a more efficient form of dealing with issues for all parties involved, especially for parties that can&#8217;t afford the legal fees. \u201cThis is based in New York, but it has the capacity to travel,\u201d said Ziff. \u201cWhat makes this program really different is it\u2019s not a voluntary program. This is a legally binding program that involves third-party monitoring which would avoid conflicts of interest. This can\u2019t just be about having a code of conduct. It\u2019s really about how you implement that.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Bi78McTF0fD\/\" data-instgrm-version=\"9\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n<div style=\"padding:8px;\">\n<div style=\" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.476635514018696% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;\">\n<div style=\" background:url(data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC\/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5\/P8\/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo\/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI\/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf\/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Bi78McTF0fD\/\" style=\" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;\" target=\"_blank\">Announcing the RESPECT Program at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit this week with the brilliant @ediebcampbell. #restartfashion #Time4RESPECT<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\">A post shared by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/saraziff\/\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;\" target=\"_blank\"> Sara Ziff<\/a> (@saraziff) on <time style=\" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;\" datetime=\"2018-05-18T23:04:49+00:00\">May 18, 2018 at 4:04pm PDT<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async defer src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Across the Atlantic, newcomers to organizing for active change are carrying Ziff&#8217;s torch to their own regions. \u201cWe started thinking about it back in 2015, we didn\u2019t know what we wanted to do exactly, but already back then we were thinking there were things that needed to be changed in this industry,\u201d said <a href=\"\/\/models.com\/models\/ekaterina-ozhiganova\">Ekaterina Ozhiganova<\/a> of France\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pg\/modellawunion\/about\/?ref=page_internal\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Model Law<\/a>. The Paris-based, Russian model says she and former co-founder Gwenola Guichard began working for more concrete change after Models.com\u2019s 2017 survey asking <a href=\"https:\/\/models.com\/mdx\/how-should-a-model-be-treated\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">how models should be treated<\/a> and Model Law launched officially, soon after, in January 2018.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe main purpose is to protect and defend models\u2019 rights in France,\u201d said Ozhiganova. For her, the backbone of issues that models face is financial and stands with their legal status in France as employees of model agencies as opposed to independent contractors, or even employees with some sort of union representation. \u201cMost models are not aware of why they get paid the legal minimum wage of 33 to 36% (by their modeling agency after the amounts paid from clients). They also don\u2019t know that they are considered as \u201cemployees\u201d in France,\u201d explained Ozhiganova, who thinks it doesn&#8217;t make sense for models to carry the same heavy tax burden as more traditional full-time employees with benefits or to be unable to get paid if they are unsigned. While not every model is being paid this minimum amount and payments vary across clients and agencies, it is a source of vulnerability for many.<\/p>\n<div class=\"centerimg\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/?attachment_id=107850\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-107850\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/ekaterina_portrait.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-107850\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/ekaterina_portrait.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/ekaterina_portrait-480x640.jpg 480w, https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/ekaterina_portrait-960x1280.jpg 960w, https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/ekaterina_portrait-900x1200.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<small>Ekaterina Ozhiganova by Manuel Obadia-Wills<\/small>\n<\/div>\n<p>The way things are \u201ccorresponds to a traditional vision of work in France, where an employee works with the same employer on a regular basis for a long period of time and receives the same amount of money monthly. But the modeling industry is the extreme opposite. Most models are foreigners, working irregularly; most of them won\u2019t work enough hours to actually see any returns on the social contributions they had to pay (like unemployment allowance or retirement pensions),\u201d she explained. A few weeks ago a first step was achieved with the national union of French modeling agencies, <a href=\"http:\/\/synam.org\/mobile\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">SYNAM<\/a> ordering a translation of the current labor agreement into English so that more models can understand it and join the conversation. The direction of a possible new legal classification will depend largely on Emmanuel Macron\u2019s treatment of freelancers as his government develops, as he is currently looking to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/08\/04\/world\/europe\/emmanuel-macron-france-economy-labor-law.html\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">simplify the taxation process<\/a> for independent workers by merging several social security contribution funds; as it stands there are hundreds of freelance status\u2019 in France, each with their own rules, contributions and regulations. However, the jury is still out if he will be able to make significant enough changes to an immensely complicated tax code when the general public is more concerned with <a href=\"https:\/\/global.handelsblatt.com\/politics\/macron-france-reforms-899079\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">unemployment and the need of rising wages<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>So what is the best option for working models in France? From the perspective of models working in other countries with no guarantee they will be paid or legal minimum wage, there is a question as to whether or not changing to freelance status is actually beneficial in the end. However, Ozhiganova is confident that the current protections will be sustained while models&#8217; financial agency is increased. \u201cAny type of worker (employee, independent contractor, other \u201chybrid\u201d status) has a social security guaranteed and enforced by the State [in France],\u201d she said. \u201cSo if we manage to change the current legal status of models, we won\u2019t lose these mandatory protections. As to payments, the legal delay for independent contractors is roughly 60 days from the invoice,\u201d &#8211; a helpful stipulation in an industry where models often complain of delays in payment. Of course, Model Law is in the very early stages and its hard to imagine that a reclassification of the tax code of any type of employee would not be lengthy and involved.<\/p>\n<p>In the UK, Elizabeth Peyton-Jones entered the fashion world from the outside. \u201cI\u2019ve been for twenty years a health care practitioner,\u201d explained the Londoner. \u201cAbout four years ago I was asked by the British Fashion Council to do a nutritional plan for models. I thought: rather than just do another diet, why don\u2019t I really look into what the problem is? When you\u2019re a practitioner and you\u2019re looking at eating disorders, you don\u2019t just look at the diet. You look at what\u2019s affecting that person in order to create an environment which is making them use food as an immediate relief. What was happening to create what seemed to be a lack of concern within the fashion industry?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For Peyton-Jones, the problem lay in a lack of transparency and regulation. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is an industry with no best governance. No best practice. No status of certification,\u201d she said. \u201cIt&#8217;s a <a href=\"https:\/\/fashionunited.com\/global-fashion-industry-statistics\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">trillion-dollar<\/a> industry, yet didn\u2019t seem to have any standard in place for its organizations. For me, it was impossible for anybody to do any serious protecting or safety measures because you\u2019re sending human beings all over the globe and there is no way of ensuring safety.&#8221; Moreover, no one on the inside \u2014 or outside the industry for that matter \u2014 wanted to look into the wider issues. \u201cThe danger zones for me were very high and nobody was prepared to take a risk within the industry,\u201d continued Peyton-Jones. \u201cI\u2019m not in the industry, so I don\u2019t really care or need protection. I can\u2019t lose my job by going to modeling agencies or brands and saying you need to develop better practice.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"centerimg\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/EPJ-Portrait.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2667\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-107898\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/EPJ-Portrait.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/EPJ-Portrait-480x640.jpg 480w, https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/EPJ-Portrait-960x1280.jpg 960w, https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/EPJ-Portrait-900x1200.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><br \/>\n<small>Elizabeth Peyton-Jones<\/small>\n<\/div>\n<p>Albeit in its very early stages, the program Peyton-Jones is developing called the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.modelstrust.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Responsible Trust for Models<\/a>, seeks to put up a standard certification over modeling agencies. It will be independently run by British Standards Institution (an institution which regulates a host of industries, from e-cigarettes to greyhound racing), and will put a visible stamp on agencies using best practice\u2014something like an organic food stamp, which says that the agency treats their models respectfully. Peyton-Jones held a two-day forum which brought together various stakeholders \u2014 models, agents, brands, publishers, and photographers to discuss what they saw as major issues. She also spoke with the Houses of Lords recently to discuss modern slavery and supply chain and has garnered support from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BlC3DhVnuOc\/?hl=en&#038;taken-by=arizona_muse\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Arizona Muse<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessoffashion.com\/articles\/voices\/natalia-vodianova-from-fashion-fairy-tale-to-philanthropic-movement\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Natalia Vodianova<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Peyton-Jones says it\u2019s not about shaming and it\u2019s not about punishment. \u201cWhat I\u2019m trying to do is to create protection and prevention,\u201d she explains. I\u2019m trying to create a scenario where they will be found out if they are employing girls that are under the age of the standard. They will be found out if they are not paying girls properly. They will be audited. They will be caught if models are sent to a photographer who is not on a register that shows that they have a clean criminal record.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Peyton-Jones plans that once agencies pass certification and pay dues, for models to take a week-long curriculum that includes lessons on walking, nutrition, skin and make-up, personal finance, and contracting. The access to medical specialists and therapists would be useful to any working professional and certainly having access to financial advisors would empower models who often have trouble accessing basic information about how much they are getting paid for a specific job. As for the information on skin, makeup, and self-presentation &#8211; how much does any women, even if her job relates to aesthetics, benefit from this type of grooming instruction? From inside the industry, there\u2019s no shortage of criticism and pressure to fit certain standards, and the assumption that the models are lacking these skills seem somewhat antiquated. In total, getting agencies to pay for their own certification will undoubtedly be a hurdle that RTM will have to be clever to cross.<\/p>\n<p>Outside of the educational component, the goals of the Responsible Trust for Models seem quite closely aligned to those of Model Alliance, just in much, much earlier stages. They are both seeking to regulate working conditions and bring about real consequences for those who violate the rights of working models, though the approach to regulation is different with Model Alliance working with industry authorities directly and demanding binding contractual agreements and RTM looking to regulate from the outside. Like Model Law, RTM seems to be quite nascent in its development and if the regulations Peyton-Jones is seeking to develop are achieved, there is still an argument that this measure of oversight is not enough to truly protect working models. The issues are so complex and there is so much skepticism, even among those trying to create change, as to what the best method for doing so would be.<\/p>\n<p>If you speak to the models who are dealing with these issues on a day-to-day basis, it\u2019s quite clear that like the women who are advocating for legal and regulatory change, the girls walking and shooting today see the problems as multifaceted. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI started when I was 16, and I developed an eating disorder,\u201d said <a href=\"\/\/models.com\/models\/katie-moore\">Katie Moore<\/a>. \u201cI do not regret modeling at all. It\u2019s taught me so much and I\u2019ve grown so much as a person. But it was pretty severe for a really long time. I ended up having the best season of my career thus far when I was at my smallest. Even then, it was like, you could lose a little more&#8230;but, with the circumstances, you\u2019re fine. We can manage, the clothes are baggy anyway\u2026 I walked 42 shows that season. I\u2019ve had agents in the past who have forced me to do three-day juice cleanses. They don\u2019t care. They measured me every day and expected changes in a day. I think what needs to change in the industry is there\u2019s no real in-between for girls who aren\u2019t very, very thin and girls who are plus size.\u201d <\/p>\n<div class=\"centerimg\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/katie.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1875\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-107856\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/katie.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/katie-512x640.jpg 512w, https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/katie-1024x1280.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/katie-900x1125.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><br \/>\n<small>Katie Moore by Steven Yatsko<\/small>\n<\/div>\n<p>Whether you\u2019re talking about harassment and sexual abuse, the pressures to be extremely thin, the lack of financial regulation, or seemingly smaller issues\u2014like feeling free to represent their true self on set and in castings, changing clothes privately, and microaggressions in the working environment\u2014nothing is in isolation. It gets even more complicated when models young age is an added variable as sometimes abuse isn&#8217;t understood. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve experienced some very strange things,\u201d said <a href=\"\/\/models.com\/models\/matilda-lowther\">Matilda Lowther<\/a> from the Models.com office. \u201cI was very lucky that nothing has happened. But there have been things that definitely made me feel a bit uneasy, and I was scared to talk about them [at the time] because you feel this weird guilt like it\u2019s something you\u2019re doing and because you\u2019re young, you don\u2019t know if it\u2019s what supposed to be. And it&#8217;s only years down the line that I\u2019m like, okay, that was really not right. There is a lot that is changing in a great way and there is still a lot that I think needs to change.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"centerimg\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/mathilda.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1875\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-107857\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/mathilda.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/mathilda-512x640.jpg 512w, https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/mathilda-1024x1280.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/mathilda-900x1125.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><br \/>\n<small>Matilda Lowther by Steven Yatsko<\/small>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s insane that they make you feel like you\u2019re not in control of your own body and that it\u2019s a product,\u201d said model and actress <a href=\"\/\/models.com\/models\/Barbie-Ferreira\">Barbie Ferreira<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m a white woman and I\u2019m not even that big and I still get the token role all the time. It took me a long time to get people to tell me how much money I was making from jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What needs to change first and what are possible solutions?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is not how things should be,\u201d said Ferreira. \u201cYou\u2019re collaborating with an individual who is helping you sell those clothes and that vision. Because there are no rules, they feel like it\u2019s one less thing they have to worry about. They\u2019re not worried about the health and safety of these very young people. There are 15-year-olds out here. Alone. They\u2019re 16 [and] alone. You show up and you\u2019re like, what is this world that I\u2019ve only ever known from the outside? I think if there is a set placement of rules in place from a third party, [you wouldn\u2019t] feel as if you\u2019re fucking up your entire career [by speaking out].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to build each other up instead of putting each other down,\u201d said Moore. \u201cI think if you have a social media following\u2014or even if you don\u2019t have a lot of followers\u2014speak your truth and portray who you are on Instagram or whatever else and be a good role model for other girls. I wish control over what the sample sizes are. We\u2019re making baby steps, but I wish there would be more.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"centerimg\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/barbie.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1875\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-107855\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/barbie.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/barbie-512x640.jpg 512w, https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/barbie-1024x1280.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/i.mdel.net\/oftheminute\/images\/2018\/06\/barbie-900x1125.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><br \/>\n<small>Barbie Ferreira by Steven Yatsko<\/small>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--pp-thumb-start--><!--PictPress found no dir \/2018\/07\/107824--><!--pp-thumb-end--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the age of #MeToo, learn about the organizations leading the way to fight abuse in the modeling industry<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":436,"featured_media":107928,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10414,9,16,10354],"tags":[10645,11440,10448,10273,9796,2139],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107824"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/436"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107824"}],"version-history":[{"count":98,"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109510,"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107824\/revisions\/109510"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}