NYC Fashion Week: Supermodels + Model Alliance Demand Industry Adopt Labor Regs to Prevent Sex Abuse

NEW YORK, NY (09/08/2021) (readMedia)-- During New York Fashion Week (Sept. 6-12), the Model Alliance today released a petition (see below) calling for systemic changes in the modeling industry. The petition follows supermodel Carré Otis's trip to Paris to testify to police against her abuser: former President of Elite Europe Gérald Marie. Carre and five other survivors are all outside of the criminal statute of limitations in France. The petition calls for companies and agencies -- including Marie's former agency Elite, now owned by Elite World Group -- to sign onto the RESPECT Program. Last month, Carré and the Model Alliance called on Elite World Group CEO and Netflix reality star Julia Haart to respond to Carré's case filing and commit to the concrete, enforceable measures offered by the program. EWG and Haart -- who has branded herself as a champion for women on her show "My Unorthodox Life" -- have previously failed to sign on, and did not commit to doing so moving forward. The petition also calls for New York State lawmakers to sign the Adult Survivors Act, which would provide time-barred survivors who were over the age of 18 with a one-year lookback window to sue their abuser -- or the institution that protected them -- in civil court.

Sexual abuse remains rampant in the modeling industry which has been largely untouched by the #MeToo movement or any regulatory framework for working models. In response the Model Alliance -- a labor rights collective that aims to promote fair treatment, equal opportunity, and more sustainable practices in the fashion industry -- designed the RESPECT Program. The program uses legally-binding agreements to create enforceable standards and hold bad actors and enabling institutions accountable in the fashion industry. Proper oversight and regulation would significantly reduce the incidence of sexual misconduct, but in their absence, statute of limitation reform is necessary to hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes. While many companies have created voluntary programs with a code of conduct, the Model Alliance support line hears daily from models at the highest levels of the industry who are unable to report abuse to their agency under these types of programs for a multitude of reasons. Companies will implement those programs on a voluntary basis and therefore, hold the right to opt out of their own policy and continue business as usual. This is not a meaningful or legally-binding step towards a labor rights framework.

Carré was 17 when she was scouted and then sent from New York to Paris to live with Marie, where she was repeatedly raped by him. Marie's behavior was known throughout Elite when she was sent to France. She has standing to sue in New York, where lawmakers, recognizing the science of trauma, passed legislation known as the Child Victims Act two years ago, which provided a multi-year lookback window for survivors of child sex abuse to file a civil case against their abusers, even if they are outside of the statute of limitations. Carré filed a civil case last month against her former agent Trudi Tapscott and Marie before the window closed. New York would become the second state after New Jersey to open a civil lookback window to survivors of adult sex abuse. The state Senate passed the Adult Survivors Act in June, but the Assembly has yet to do so. The petition has also been signed by Senator Alessandra Biaggi, Chair of the Senate Ethics Committee, and Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou.

Carré, a member of the Model Alliance's Leadership Council, still models and is represented by Iconic Focus Models, an all women-owned agency.

The petition is below and has been signed by high-profile models, including Beverly Johnson, Karen Elson, Milla Jovovich, in addition to Matrix-star Carrie Ann Moss. The petition is available to sign here.

SIGN THE PETITION: SUPPORT CARRÉ OTIS AND SURVIVORS IN CREATING A SAFER MODELING INDUSTRY

Sexual assault and misconduct are rampant in the modeling industry. Carré Otis's recent lawsuit against her abuser, Gérald Marie, highlights a decades' long system of traffic that demands justice.

Show your support for Carré by signing the Model Alliance's petition NOW to help time-barred survivors access justice and put protections in place to create a safer industry for all.

First, New York lawmakers must pass the Adult Survivors Act to let survivors who were 18 or older at the time of their abuse and are now outside the statute of limitations come forward to seek justice through the civil courts.

Second, we demand that agencies, brands, fashion powerhouses like Elite World Group and others sign onto the Model Alliance's one-of-a-kind RESPECT Program to commit to workers' rights and an environment free of abuse. The RESPECT Program is the only existing accountability program designed by and for models. Under RESPECT, signatory companies make a legally binding, enforceable commitment to require their employees and contractors to follow a code of conduct that protects everyone's safety on the job.

The industry that allowed and enabled serial abusers like Marie is still the same industry: One that lacks regulation, escapes accountability, and normalizes trafficking -- all off the backs of young women and men. It's time to ensure that everyone in this industry can work in a safe environment, free from harm, with access to justice.

Signed by:

Sara Ziff, Founder & Executive Director, Model Alliance

Carré Otis, Supermodel & Survivor

Barrett Pall

Ava Smith

Fitz

Beverly Johnson

Milla Jovovich

Amanda Rodriguez

Tatjana Patitz

Carrie Ann Moss

Paulina Porizkov

Karen Alexander

State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi

Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou

Ambra Battilana Gutierrez

Shari Plummer

David Stewart

Brana Dane

Athena Currey

Dr. Sarah Spinner

Erin Pasquet

Alyssa Sutherland

Braeden Wright

Theresa Haas, WSR Network

Alexandra Waterbury

Alexander Kjellevik

Pania Rose

Michael Hager

Karen Elson

Lynn Mabry

Jill Dodd

Emily Mott

Amy Dorris-Hulth

Laurie Marsden

Akasha Hendrix

Rachel Price

Susanna Mahoney

Bradley James Falconer

Madisyn Ritland

Kai Braden

Kenny Sale

Meredith Hattam

Elliott Sailors

Prema Kerollis

Julia Schwadron Marianelli

Jason Hofmann

Ingrid Schram

Meera Fox

Chloe Hayward

Elle Dawson

Nova Hagel

Gwen Van Meir

Jessica Hoffman

Matthew Charles Sutton

Andrew Hayden Kang

Ivan Lizarde

Maurice Smith

Barrett Pall

Dexter Rangel

Kenny Sale

Cindi Leive

Greg Asbed

Iskra Lawrence

About the RESPECT Program

Born of the direct experience and unique understanding that models have of the industry, the RESPECT Program is the first-of-its-kind initiative, designed to enable a working environment in which creative collaboration and self-expression flourish, and everyone can work without fear of harassment, abuse, discrimination or violence. Unlike other industry programs that rely on voluntary self-regulation, the RESPECT Program uses legally-binding agreements to create enforceable standards and hold bad actors and enabling institutions accountable.

Hailed by the United Nations and Harvard Business Review, the worker-driven social responsibility approach used by the RESPECT Program requires the following from participating companies, brands and agencies:

• Implement a rigorous Code of Conduct to protect models from harassment and abuse.
• Train models, staff, and other contractors to ensure that everyone understands their rights and responsibilities under the Program, including how to bring complaints if they experience abuse.
• Sign a legally-binding agreement with the Model Alliance to ensure compliance with the Program's standards. Serious repeated violations will result in companies terminating their business relationships with the offending individual.
• Ensure all models are paid for their work in a timely manner, without unreasonable fees and with transparency concerning any and all wage deductions

The Program includes an independent, transparent enforcement body to monitor the workplace and address complaints of harassment, as well as a safe, confidential and accessible complaint mechanism, which models can use without fear of retaliation.