Renowned actress and model, Phuti Khomo, is urging the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture to regulate the modelling industry.
Khomo highlighted that modelling remains underrated as a sustainable career in present time.
“Everybody sees modelling as a pastime and some frivolous thing that kids just want to partake in. You cannot have such a mentality in a world that is evolving, especially with social media being as huge and life changing,” she said.
The former Miss Teen South Africa mentioned that regulating the industry would protect models’ rights and eliminate their exploitation.
Khomo emphasised that the modelling industry has for a long time been a haven for human traffickers and scammers, who lure victims by selling aspiring models pipe dreams.
“Our children are now being trafficked in the name of modelling. People are coming onto our children more easily and readily because of social media.
“People don’t want to see modelling as a career, but as a playground to scam and exploit people, ultimately trafficking and killing them,” said Khomo.
The Global Report on Trafficking in Persons by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) revealed that sexual exploitation (79%) is the common form of human trafficking.
Additionally, almost 20% of all trafficking victims were children.
Therefore, regulating the industry would drastically minimise human trafficking cases succeeding through fake modelling agencies.
Additionally, a regulated industry would enable a vetting process of credible modelling agencies through the sports ministry’s website.
“The department should regulate modelling by having agencies that are credible and vetted by the department.
“If a parent has a child who wants to be a model, they can simply go on (the government’s) website and check if an agency is credible and if its not there, it is a red flag,” said Khomo.
She furthermore highlighted that the rights of models and artists are also not protected because government merged sports and arts into one office, which hinders it from addressing the nuanced issues that affect the country’s creatives.
“Someone decided to put all these sports, arts and culture all under one umbrella in one ministry. However, they are not given the same level of respect.
“The budgets are not equal. Sports and recreation should be given one department, then culture and arts in another department,” said Khomo.
Khomo applauded the private sector for investing and recognising modelling as a profitable industry.
“I want the department to recognise modelling as an art and career because people are living off it right now,” she said.
The Star