By Joceline Brooke-Hamilton, 1604217319
I've been working on a new video for my YouTube channel, & have been joined by a fabulous collection of other freelance models - between us we have over 130 years of experience, and we want to use it to light the way for new models.
Content warning; sexual assault
Back in 2004 when I was still a new model, I met a more experienced model for the first time. And she warned me about 3 photographers. "He's perfectly fine, but he'll say your skin looks dry, and he'll try to rub baby oil onto your body. Tell him you'll do it yourself". "He steals models' knickers; I won't work for him any more". "He's set up a hidden camera in the bathroom where models get changed". As I met more models, I started collecting warnings, and I very much appreciated them. As I gained more experience, I started handing my knowledge on to my sister models in return. And the network of models, communicating with each other, is one of the most powerful tools we have for keeping each other safe.
But it'll never be possible to warn every new model about every predatory photographer, and by the time newcomers make contact with experienced models, they might already have had some bad experiences. So the best thing I could think of doing, was to make a collaborative video with my fellow models in which we share our experiences, and what we've learned as a result. Because a lot of bad behaviour on shoots falls into fairly predictable patterns, and when you can anticipate, you can often do a better job of protecting yourself.
Thank you so much to the brilliant models who shared their stories. Some of them are hard to listen to (editing it made me cry), but I really hope that they might help equip other models to challenge predatory behaviour, and stay safer.
