Girls under 16 'should not model'
Girls under 16 should be banned from the catwalks at London Fashion Week, according to an inquiry ordered by the British fashion industry.
The Model Health Inquiry is advising the organisers of London Fashion Week.
Panel chairwoman Baroness Kingsmill said it was "profoundly inappropriate" that young girls should be portrayed as adult women.
The September fashion show is also under pressure from those concerned at using very slim women in catwalk shows.
The panel of experts for the independent Model Health Inquiry, set up to investigate health problems among models, also called for greater protection for 17 and 18 year-olds.
But it ruled out weighing all models because this had been considered ineffective in other countries and may be counter-productive.
It is still considering whether to advise that models' Body Mass Index, or height/weight ratio, be checked before they are employed.
It also highlights the need to protect younger models, and calls for a union for the profession.
Baroness Kingsmill said: "members of the panel became increasingly concerned as we heard more details about the working conditions faced by many models and the vulnerability of young women working in an unregulated and scarcely-monitored work environment.
"We have been given startling medical evidence about the prevalence and impact of eating disorders in certain high-risk industries.
"There was also strongly expressed concern that it is profoundly inappropriate that girls under 16 under the age of consent should be portrayed as adult women.
"The risk of sexualising these children was high and designers could risk charges of sexual exploitation."
Panel members also called for a rigorous scientific study into the prevalence of eating disorders among fashion models.
The British Fashion Council has indicated that it will accept the Inquiry's final recommendations when they are published in September, in time for the next London Fashion Week which is held that month.
5 Comments – Post a comment
cranar
Commented 20 months ago - 4th October 2010 - 09:45am
YES THEY SHOULD....
scarlett123
Commented 10 months ago - 5th July 2011 - 12:58pm
you shouldn't model under 16 because it's not good for your health and you girls are beatiful the way you are. they make you super skinny and you can get un consious after not eating.
sundaegirl
Commented 10 months ago - 5th July 2011 - 12:59pm
they shouldnt change who you really are into something else they make you super skinny and self conscious!!!!!!
boo bear
Commented 3 months ago - 8th February 2012 - 10:42am
# i think girls modeling under 16 is so wrong, because they force them to loose weight evan if there as skinny as a stick, they tell them to loose weight which will turn anorexic if they push it really far to try and impress there judges.
justin bieber 4 ever
Commented 1 month ago - 2nd April 2012 - 20:38pm
i know they shouldnt try and get girls under 16 into modeling i want to be a modle when im older and i am skinny and i want to lose weight still i went on a diet before and some people may call me stupid or anorexic but i knew the stuff i was doing to my self i want to do it to my self because i seen magazines and there is skinny girls on there