Cameron Russell and Edie Campbell call out photographers who sexually assault fashion models

American model Cameron Russell has spent the last 18 hours glued to her mobile phone, reading and re-posting stories on her Instagram account from fellow fashion models who say they have suffered at the hands of photographers, casting directors, designers and other powerful men within the fashion industry.

Russell, who has walked for Prada, Louis Vuitton, Victoria's Secret and many more, has respected the privacy of every victim by blocking out names, however the accusations submitted to her include tales of alleged manipulation, harassment and sexual assault, with many saying that the abuse happened when they were just 15 or 16 years-old.

The first post that Russell shared was a friend’s story, who detailed how a male photographer had assaulted her on a test shoot at the age of 15. “A brave model (and friend) reached out to me with her story today,” Russell wrote, starting the hashtag #MyJobShouldNotIncludeAbuse.  

“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. We are not talking about one, five, or even twenty men. We are talking about a culture of exploitation and it must stop.”

Russell has subsequently shared more than 25 first-person accounts so far with her 77,000 followers on Instagram, as more models have apparently sent her messages detailing their ordeals.

She describes seeing women from the film industry coming forward this week, to speak against Harvey Weinstein, as a motivation for publishing the pieces.

“Hearing about #harveyweinstein this week has sparked conversations about how widespread and how familiar his behavior is,” she wrote. “We talked about how hard it is to share stories of assault. When they are the norm, calling them out can feel disruptive and unprofessional. On many occasions I've been called a feminist for reporting unwanted groping, spanking, pinching, pressure for dates, phone calls and texts of a sexual nature, lack of appropriate changing areas, etc. And because the response has always been "are you surprised?" or "that's part of the job" I tolerated them. When the offenses were bigger, calling them out is terrifying, and demands a level of exposure and backlash to what is already painful and sometimes shameful.”

British model Edie Campbell was one of the first to back Russell in speaking out. “Thank you to @CameronRussell who is sharing the anonymous stories of models who have been abused / assaulted /  harassed / told to put up with it because “it’s just the way it is”,” she wrote on Instagram Stories.

“On the question of power in the fashion industry… the question of consent is a particularly tricky one when it comes to fashion. When we go on set, we enter into an unspoken contract: for that day we give our bodies and our faces over to the photographer, stylist, hairdresser, makeup artist. We give up ownership for that day. The power imbalance is huge, and the duty of care to that model is even greater as a result."

"I would urge everyone within the fashion industry to be mindful of that power imbalance. If you have power, you have a duty of care in the ways in which you exercise it. And not just towards models.”