Models come together to raise awareness of the Adult Survivors Act
A New York law creates a one-year window for adult victims of sexual assault to sue their abusers regardless of when the abuse occurred. Models can be especially vulnerable to sexual abuse, and a new PSA is trying to get the word out about the new law to current and past fashion industry professionals.
Model Alliance, an advocacy group for the fashion industry, has teamed up with Harvey Weinstein accuser Ambra B. Gutierrez, supermodel Carre Otis, TikToker Barrett Pall and other models to create a public service announcement to spread awareness of the Adult Survivors Act (ASA). The New York law provides a one-year window for victims to sue regardless of the statute of limitations.
Under the Adult Survivors Act (ASA), New Yorkers who were sexually assaulted as adults, regardless of when the act occurred, will have a one-year window to sue their abusers and institutions that were negligent in responding to the assault. While several states have implemented similar "lookback" laws for child sexual abuse victims to bring civil claims, only New Jersey and now New York have allowed a grace period for victims who were adults at the time of the assault. Victims have until November 24, 2023, to file their cases.
Sara Ziff, the founder and executive director of the Model Alliance, says her group was one of many that lobbied for the new law. "We had a number of models who are survivors speak out at press conferences and lobby for the passage of the ASA," she said. "We were part of a brave coalition of survivors from several different New York-based organizations who spoke out and advocated for the bill for about three years. And we were really proud to stand with the governor at the bill signing back in May of last year," she added.
In 2019, New York extended the statute of limitations to 20 years for adults filing civil lawsuits for many sex crimes. However, that legislation was not retroactive and only applied to new cases. The ASA fills an essential gap because it often takes years for victims to come to terms with the trauma of sexual assault. Other times victims must wait to seek justice until they no longer fear retaliation from a powerful predator. By that time, the statute of limitations can be over.
Ziff, a former model and victim of abuse, says the lookback window is essential for her industry. "People working through modeling agencies are uniquely vulnerable to abuse, and at the height of the #MeToo movement, our support line saw a 4,000% increase in inquiries. A lot of the time, they were not able to speak out due to a combination of factors. It could be financial dependence or fear of retaliation. And then they would find that they were barred from pursuing justice because of this restrictive statute of limitations. And so for our community, this lookback window from the Adult Survivors Act is really important."
The act applies explicitly to crimes listed in Article 130 of the New York State penal code. According to Kevin Mintzer, an employment attorney, "Where the victim is an adult, there would have to be nonconsensual physical contact for there to be a crime under Article 130 of the penal law, which is what triggers revival under the ASA." Survivors should seek guidance from an attorney to determine if their experiences qualify under the ASA.
Although perceived by outsiders as a glamorous profession, modeling can be fraught with sexual abuse. At the height of #MeToo in October 2017, model Cameron Russell took to Instagram to elevate the voices of other models who experienced sexual assault and harassment on the job. Using the hashtag #MyJobShouldNotIncludeAbuse, Russell posted anonymous screenshots of accounts of abuse she received from fellow models. The narratives revealed the shocking reality of rampant sexual abuse in the modeling industry. Perpetrators were primarily photographers but also included stylists and agents, and victims were typically quite young.
One model wrote to Russell, "My stepmother was with me at the shoot in another room. She had no idea he put his fingers deep down in my v a few times as he was shooting picks of me, saying this will make pics look more sensual." Another reported, "The photographer came into the dressing room, said some sexual things that I can't remember, and peeled my clothes off. I'm embarrassed to say that I completely froze. My mind went blank as he ran his hands all over my body." Still another reported how a photographer felt entitled to "tweak her breasts" so her nipples would be hard and show through for the camera.
And the abuse doesn't just happen to women. Barrett Pall, model and TikToker, has publicly described how the photographer on his first shoot sexually assaulted him. He has now joined Model Alliance to help raise awareness of the ASA. "I do not want to be defined by my experience, but I also refuse to sit by and watch abusers get away with hurting innocent people. The Adult Survivors Act is one small step toward the broader industry-wide change we desperately need," he said in a press statement.
"We're told to 'man up and deal with it.' And the stigma that comes with men reporting sexual assault is incredibly toxic and dangerous as it allows abusers to evade their day in court," added model Kai Braden.
The modeling industry is particularly vulnerable because, as they say in the Model Alliance video, "Whenever your body is your business, it can feel like it doesn't belong to you. Someone else is in charge."
Jocelyn Elise Crowley, a Rutgers University professor who has studied sexual abuse in the modeling industry, analyzed the stories from Russell’s Instagram posts. She has described her take on the prevalence of sexual abuse in the modeling industry, "First, a model is selling herself in a way: her body is the one around which products will be displayed. Men view the physicality of her job as giving them permission to speak and touch her in ways that are wildly inappropriate in other occupations." Crowley also points to the fact that models are often much younger than their abusers as a contributing factor.
Ziff points to the structure of the modeling industry as another cause for the rampant abuse. "Models are a uniquely vulnerable workforce due to the predatory labor structure that leaves young women and girls trapped in this cycle of debt and dependence on their modeling agencies. These agencies are almost entirely unregulated in New York. And that has been a focus for our organization to try to make sure that our workforce has basic rights and protections through modeling agencies, and it's why we are working to pass another bill, the Fashion Workers Act," Ziff describes.
In New York, the center of the American fashion industry, modeling and creative agencies, unlike talent agencies, escape licensing and regulation, adding to the problem. The Fashion Workers Act that Ziff advocates will close this loophole and create basic protections for fashion workers.
Crowley sums up the issue, "The fashion industry has a serious problem. Most supermodels can control their own professional destinies because of their enormous financial resources. But the majority of models working in the industry are not supermodels. They are women attempting to do a professional job in an environment where men control major aspects of their careers." She points out that most models earn about $30,000 annually and age out of their careers by their mid-twenties.
The ASA isn't just about getting financial remuneration for past abuses. Ziff says, "This is about holding people in institutions accountable for issues that have gone unchecked for far too long. It's really about holding people accountable. And giving people an opportunity to pursue justice."
For those in the fashion industry who have experienced abuse, the Model Alliance has a hotline on its website where they provide referrals to legal professionals.
