OP-ED: Why We Must Tackle Sexual Harassment and Gender Imbalances in Fashion
By Eman Alami
Whether it’s Ted Yoho hurling insults at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Harvey Weinstein’s despicable crimes or Paul Marciano’s sexual misconduct, harassment of women has been reported in every aspect of the workforce. While Capitol Hill and Hollywood may capture press attention, in reality, it happens everywhere.
The fashion industry strives for images where women are placed at the forefront of power, yet behind the scenes they are left vulnerable to gender-based harassment and predatory behaviours. The case of Domi Perek is an illustration of this. Perek began her journey in the fashion industry as a ghost writer and content creator. At eighteen, she co-founded Mess Magazine, where over 1,000,000 views hit after six hours of the publication’s launch. Not too long after, Conde Nast and Fashion One TV became Perek’s business partners. This big feat in fashion leadership opened doors for Perek to travel abroad and acquire more potential partners as an entrepreneur. Regardless of Perek’s success, men abroad did not capture her full picture. The “supposed” business partners, harassed her into an attempted sex trafficking.
On average according to the Sexual Abuse Law Firm, “87% of models say they’ve been asked to take off their clothes without warning, 30% have encountered inappropriate behaviour on the job, and 28% have been propositioned for sex at work.” Although, there are laws to protect against abusive behaviour in the workplace, many of these cases go unreported to protect employees. This law has a loophole— because the fashion industry is mainly based on independent contracting and freelancers, these protections do not apply to them. Often, victims are less likely to report their cases as they don’t want to risk “not making it.” Or worse, victims stories are dismissed as “false.”
The fashion industry targets women as the primary consumer, but women hold 25% of leadership roles in top fashion companies according to the Business of Fashion. People in power like to objectify those below them and develop an “invincible” ego. It took five years for Perek to return to networking within the fashion industry after the incident. This is an issue that needs to be resolved immediately to give more opportunities for women to thrive in positions of power. Just imagine the number of women who are not represented in the industry because of incidents of sexual harassment and abuse.
When there is an imbalance of power, it’s more challenging for women to open up on unacceptable behaviours. In addition to finding strong mentorship, individuals must urge for legislative change in the industry. Your voice matters. We need greater allyship to improve gender equality because, without a collective effort, people who engage in destructive behaviours will continue their cycle of abuse. Time’s up on the fashion industry’s gender imbalance.