Stop the Abuse of Models: Support AB 2539

"How would you feel if you came to to work today and were subjected to sexual harassment, rape, financial exploitation, and pressures to lose weight?" This is the question I asked Mr. Chair Assemblymember Roger Hernandez and Members of the Labor Committee on April 6, 2016, at the Sacramento Capitol Office for the initial hearing of Assembly Bill 2539, before it was passed the same day. AB 2539, authored by Assemblymember Marc Levine, addresses the need for workplace protections and health standards in the modeling industry, which is notoriously unregulated. Because of the lack of laws and protections, models have long been subjected to sexual and financial abuse, bullying from agents, and have been pressured to lose so much weight that many have developed devastating, even fatal eating disorders. Current research shows that 40 percent have some sort of an eating disorder, and this is just the reported percentage; many models have died from their eating disorder, as anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Although models have repeatedly tried to speak out against the injustices in the past, they have been shot down by the powerhouses in the industry and thrown away like yesterday's trash. Hmm. I remember being treated that way when I was modeling and was raped. After I confronted the director of my agency, I was shot down and made to feel as though nothing had ever happened. In my upcoming memoir, Washed Away: From Darkness to Light, ...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news