By Constance Thum, Senior Contributing Writer

Despite more people coming to discover the dark reality of the glitz and glam world we call show business, being an actor, musician, and YouTuber rank as the top ten dream jobs of children in recent polls. This desire has been compounded by the lavish lifestyles of celebrities and influencers showcased on social media where many impressionable and ambitious young women and girls aspire to emulate the successes of these famous figures and are unaware or disregard the potential risks to pursue a modelling career. Among a slew of issues like eating disorders, discrimination, low wages for starting or less famous models, and mistreatment, another major issue that has surfaced is sex trafficking and sexual abuse in the modelling industry. The glamorous illusion of modelling is not only deceptive, but can potentially be dangerous for young women and girls who are incapable of defending and protecting themselves against sexual predators. 

Famous models and fashion brands with their highly viewed fashion shows are frequently discussed among young girls and women. To perceive these shows or celebrity followings as mere entertainment and trivial, harmless pastimes would be naive. Girls may be lured into the trap of sex trafficking under the guise of modelling and the prospect for fame and fortune. According to Stop the Traffik, exploitation in the fashion industry is a common occurrence and some modelling agencies in reality serve as trafficking rings. In a harrowing 2017 report of a near sex trafficking incident of British model Chloe Ayling, she described being offered as a sex slave on the dark web and being held hostage for six days. Ayling believed that she was hired by a professional modelling agency for a high profile gig in Milan, Italy, but was allegedly kidnapped upon reaching the studio. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram may be a way in which sketchy modelling agencies and agents recruit large numbers of young women and girls, yet verifying the authenticity of the company and the exact nature of the job may be difficult especially in the digital sphere. 

Perpetrators of sexual abuse in the modelling industry may include clients, colleagues, bosses, and other models. Modelling agencies may pimp their models out to rich clients, in turn being enablers to sexual predators and their lecherous ways. A prominent example may be Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of underage girls, some of which may have been aspiring or working models, who were introduced to him by Jean Luc Brunel, the founder of MC2 Model Management. The girls reported unconsented touching, and were even made to perform sexual acts on Epstein. Other incidents involving Brunel’s misconduct include Thysia Huisman, then an eighteen-year-old Dutch model, who was sexually assaulted in September 1991. In other cases, colleagues such as hair stylists, clothes designers, managers, and other models who work with models on an intimate basis may also engage in sexual violence and molestation. In some cases, there may be blurred boundaries in terms of what constitutes inappropriate behaviour or speech that may make complaints by victims and even awareness or acceptance that their personal space has been violated difficult.

The prevalence of sexual abuse in the modelling industry closely relates to power dynamics that places many models in a disadvantaged position. Young women and girls may feel pressured to provide sexual favours for career advancement or out of economic desperation. The fear of speaking out because of disbelief, stigmatisation, ostracization from other models, and retaliation by powerful figures in the form of loss of future modelling opportunities, loss of job, and blacklisting also contribute to the silence after models face sexual abuse. Power imbalance with one party dominating over the other allows for coercion and threats to take place with little to no consequence and models may be forced to accept illicit or immoral deals.

Another troubling issue within the modelling industry is that of paedophilia. Young girls may be identified and targeted as sexual prey on social media and during auditions, as in the case of Daniel Berry, a fake casting agent who groomed young girls aged twelve to fifteen on Facebook. Within the modelling industry, regulations also tend to be lax with no restrictions placed on the minimum age of child models or rules to prevent the exploitation of children and young people. The sexualisation of underage individuals who pose in explicit positions or are made to wear extremely revealing clothing raises eyebrows for concerned adults. As many young women and girls are often unable to grasp the complexities and nuances of issues like exploitation, an important question then emerges on how we should draw the line between the young woman or child’s own choice in their clothing style and inappropriate behaviour or attire that is imposed on young women and girls for modelling.

With the #MeToo movement in late 2017, progress has been made towards greater gender equality and transparency within the workforce that may reduce the opportunities for sex trafficking and tolerance towards sexual abuse in the modelling industry. With large numbers of victims from diverse backgrounds coming forward to share their stories, they have helped uncover workplace sexual abuse and the power dynamics that put vulnerable women (and men) at risk. In light of greater preventive measures taken to protect such individuals and corrective measures implemented to punish sexual predators, is there reason to be optimistic about sexual abuse and trafficking cases disappearing or falling to low numbers in the modelling industry? Without being cynical, where there is a dominant party that wields disproportionate power in any relationship, there is a chance for abuse of authority and status. In addition, parents and even young women and girls may continue to put themselves in precarious situations because they are tempted by the potentially lucrative nature of the modelling business. The impact of recent progressive movements on the modelling industry and on the future of sexual abuse and trafficking thus remains undetermined. Ultimately, whether the #MeToo movement represents a dent to the misconduct and exploitation within the modelling industry or whether it represents a watershed moment that pushes the industry towards a brighter future depends on constant vigilance and persistent action taken towards safeguarding the wellbeing of young women and girls by all stakeholders.

References

Fake casting agent Daniel Berry groomed young girls on Facebook

Jean-Luc Brunel: three former models say they were sexually assaulted by Jeffrey Epstein friend

Modeling Agencies Enabled Sexual Predators For Years, Former Agent Says

Model Put Up For Sale on Dark Web for $300,000: 'I Would Be Killed If I Escaped'

Trafficking in the Name of Modelling