Model Cameron Russell Has Shared 50+ Anonymous Stories of Sexual Abuse in the Fashion Industry

Alexandra Whittaker
Updated
Model Cameron Russell is responding to the Harvey Weinstein scandal by creating a movement.

In the wake of the allegations of sexual harassment and abuse against Harvey Weinstein, many women and men are coming forward with stories of workplace sexual abuse that they have faced.

TRIGGER WARNING ?? A brave model (and friend) reached out to me with her story today. 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. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE YOUR STORY ANONYMOUSLY, DIRECT MESSAGE ME and I will post your words. If you would like to share publicly use the hashtag #MyJobShouldNotIncludeAbuse so the industry can see the size and scope of this problem. Hearing about #harveyweinstein this week has sparked conversations about how widespread and how familiar his behavior is. 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. #MyJobShouldNotIncludeAbuse

A post shared by Cameron Russell (@cameronrussell) on Oct 12, 2017 at 12:30pm PDT

"A brave model (and friend) reached out to me with her story today. 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," Russell in the post.

TRIGGER WARNING ?? A brave model (and friend) reached out to me with her story today. 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. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE YOUR STORY ANONYMOUSLY, DIRECT MESSAGE ME and I will post your words. If you would like to share publicly use the hashtag #MyJobShouldNotIncludeAbuse so the industry can see the size and scope of this problem. Hearing about #harveyweinstein this week has sparked conversations about how widespread and how familiar his behavior is. 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. #MyJobShouldNotIncludeAbuse

A post shared by Cameron Russell (@cameronrussell) on Oct 12, 2017 at 12:30pm PDT

"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. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE YOUR STORY ANONYMOUSLY, DIRECT MESSAGE ME and I will post your words. If you would like to share publicly use the hashtag #MyJobShouldNotIncludeAbuse so the industry can see the size and scope of this problem."

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"Hearing about #harveyweinstein this week has sparked conversations about how widespread and how familiar his behavior is. 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," Russell continued.

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"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," she wrote.

Russell has since shared more than 50 stories from women and men impacted by workplace sexual violence on her Instagram account, though others are posting about their own stories under the new hashtag. And Russell is continuing to share the anonymous stories on her Instagram account. Some are included below.

Trigger warning ?? #MyJobShouldNotIncludeAbuse

A post shared by Cameron Russell (@cameronrussell) on Oct 13, 2017 at 3:14pm PDT

Trigger warning ?? #MyJobShouldNotIncludeAbuse

A post shared by Cameron Russell (@cameronrussell) on Oct 12, 2017 at 3:08pm PDT

trigger warning ?? #MyJobShouldNotIncludeAbuse

A post shared by Cameron Russell (@cameronrussell) on Oct 12, 2017 at 3:41pm PDT

TRIGGER WARNING ?? There are so many stories...I could write a book on it. #MyJobShouldNotIncludeAbuse

A post shared by Cameron Russell (@cameronrussell) on Oct 12, 2017 at 1:44pm PDT

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