Does the fashion industry exploit young models?

Concerns have been raised about the fashion industry’s treatment of child models following the recent New York Fashion Week.

An article in The Daily Beast by former model Jennifer Sky argues that, despite legislation passed by the New York state government in 2013 to protect minors in the fashion industry, the age of models is still routinely unchecked by casting directors.

In her piece, Sky compares the modern-day working conditions of young models to Hollywood’s notorious treatment of child actors in the 1930s, before the introduction of child protection legislation. Further, she argues that as independent contractors, models have no legal protection against sexual harassment or discrimination.

According to a survey by the campaigning group Model Alliance, almost 55% of models begin their careers between the ages of 13 and 16, with fewer than 7% starting work after turning 21. Some 52% of models surveyed under 18 are “rarely” or “never” accompanied by a parent or guardian to castings and jobs.

Our author Eric V. Edmonds argues that minimum-age employment regulations are not being adequately enforced globally. He also points out that, with reference to the US, child labor laws have historically tended to “follow declines in child labor rather than lead them.”

Edmonds concludes that more emphasis should be placed on the implementation and enforcement of existing regulations that protect against child exploitation.

Read more here.

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Does minimum age of employment regulations reduce child labor? by Eric V. Edmonds