Amid Harvey Weinstein scandal, fashion models share sex abuse stories on Instagram with activist Cameron Russell
US model Russell, who has worked for the likes of Chanel and Victoria’s Secret, says this is ‘the beginning of a power shift’ and calls on the industry to stop working with ‘predators’
In the wake of revelations about disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, American model Cameron Russell took to Instagram to share her followers’ experiences of sexual abuse in the fashion industry, posting dozens of anonymous stories over a number of days.
Russell, 30, invited people to anonymously share their stories with her on Thursday, which she then reposted to her almost 90,000 followers over the following days using the hashtag #MyJobShouldNotIncludeAbuse.
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“Hearing about #harveyweinstein this week has sparked conversations about how widespread and how familiar his behaviour is,” wrote the model and activist, who has modelled for the likes of Chanel and Victoria’s Secret.
A post shared by Spread The Word (@stopsexualabusetoday) on Oct 14, 2017 at 3:02pm PDT
“Nothing in these stories should be a revelation for those working in our industry. Instead it was the beginning of a power shift. We are speaking to each other, we are speaking up, we are speaking to lawyers, and we are speaking to well-resourced reporters,” she added, calling upon magazines and agencies to take action and stop working with “predators”.
The anonymous accounts ranged from recent experiences to some dating back to up to 20 years.
They mostly involved photographers or stylists who sexually abused or attempted to abuse models – primarily women, sometimes minors, and occasionally men too. In many of the stories, victims remembered being reassured that this kind of behaviour was normal in the industry.