Model's death in Malaysia casts a long shadow Ivana Smit

Society 22:58 24.12.2017
Earlier this month, a young woman was found dead at the bottom of a high rise building in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
 
Ivana Smit, 18, was a Dutch national who had worked as a model for many years. The circumstances of her tragic death remain a mystery.
 
It's a story of beauty and death, rife with speculations around sex, drugs and alcohol - and it raises troubling questions about the risks and dangers those in the industry can face.
 
Ms Smit fell to her death naked from a balcony 20 floors high, reportedly after going home to the apartment with a couple after a party. Her parents were told by police there was no crime suspected, though investigations are continuing. The Dutch foreign ministry told the BBC that Interpol had been contacted over the case.
 
The family started a second crowdfunding effort this week to collect money for an independent investigation.
 
Across the modelling industry, the tragedy has touched a deep nerve.
 
"These things happen so many times - it feels like this this could have happened to any of us," fellow model Emitsa Shz told the BBC.
 
'Back where I should be'
 
Ivana Smit had spent most of her life in Malaysia, growing up with her grandparents in Penang.
 
That's where she started modelling, at the age of 13. After a few years with her parents in the Netherlands, she had just returned to Malaysia and only last month moved to Kuala Lumpur, working as a freelancer, not through an agency.
 
"She had better opportunities back here," Natalie Woodworth, a childhood friend of Ivana's from Penang, told the BBC.
 
"I still remember her saying to me: 'I'm back to where I should be.' She was extremely happy to be back in Malaysia."
 
Ivana Smit
 
The details of her death are unclear. Having reportedly gone with an older couple to their apartment, she fell to her death in the early hours of the morning.
 
Her body was discovered that afternoon on a sixth floor balcony, according to media reports, with alcohol and drugs detected in her blood.
 
Ivana's family, who flew out to Malaysia, told Dutch media they'd seen marks on her neck.
 
The foreign couple in the apartment have been charged separately with drugs offences and are out on bail, local media report.
 
They are reported to have told the police they were asleep when Ivana fell, and later took their child to school - unaware of her death.
 
The tragedy has led to many passionate calls for change within the industry and people posting under the hashtag #truthforivana are trying to rally support and attention to her case.
 
Pressure, drugs and alcohol
 
At 28 years old, and having worked for several years in Kuala Lumpur, Ms Shz is an industry veteran.
 
She says it's not the modelling jobs themselves that are the concern, but "the many other jobs that are going around for models".
 
It's not known if this was the case with Ms Smit, but there are plenty of offers, for instance, to just be a party girl. Earning $1,200 (£900) for five hours of simply hanging out at a party is tempting.
 
Drugs and alcohol are a huge problem in those situations, says Carl Graham, who both models and operates a small agency in Kuala Lumpur.
 
"Most of the models have been away from a family unit since very young, they have insecurities and possible issues. And they're drowning them with parties, alcohol and drugs."
 
Young girls in the industry, some in their early teens, often have very little life experience. The pressure is immense and they can struggle to cope with the glittering world they are thrown into.

Bar with bottles of alcohol

"They need to learn to be able to say 'no' and realise that getting paid for going to parties is not modelling, it is a version of escorting," says Mr Graham. "It's the older guys with the money that are usually the ones supplying alcohol and in most circumstances, these days, the drugs too."
 
"In general, the models do not have adequate protection or support from the agencies," he says.
 
"They are young girls from all over the world being taken out to bars and clubs until all sorts of times."
 
In addition, many people in Malaysia have a rather negative, stereotypical image of life and work as a model, he says. It is associated with a hedonistic lifestyle woven into a semi-celebrity world of parties, alcohol and perpetual good times.
 
"That image has in turn an effect on the girls - it makes them think that that's what they have to do," Ms Shz says. "But that's not the case. You can say 'no' to things and still do your job."
 
'We warn models to be careful'
 
Model agencies in Kuala Lumpur have told the BBC that they do take good care of the models working for them.
 
"There is a lot of that happening," Nicholas Chan of the agency ML Model in Kuala Lumpur agrees. "Alcohol, parties and maybe also drugs."
 
"As agencies we do warn the models to be careful. But there is only so much that an agency can do."
 
The photo shows a laptop screen with three images of the model, in a black top and trousers in various poses
 
Besides having his own agency, he is also on the committee of the Association of Model and Modelling Agencies Malaysia.
 
The umbrella group tries to establish more standards across the country - which he says would then also improve working conditions and stability for the models.
 
"Of course not all agencies are bad," Ms Shz says. "But some are only after the profit they get and put very little effort into how well they protect the girls from possible dangers."
 
"These things happen so often," she says of Ivana's death. "But only the most dramatic cases are picked up by the media and even those are quickly forgotten."
 
Among those cases was the death in October of a 14-year old Russian model in China.
 
Vlada Dzyuba fell ill after taking part in Shanghai Fashion Week and died of multiple organ failure.
 
While the Chinese modelling agency who employed her denied claims she died from overwork, Russian media blamed her death on meningitis compounded by exhaustion, following "a gruelling fashion show in Shanghai".
 
'The issues that riddle our society'
 
But Ms Shz believes such cases do little to change anything.
 
Agencies usually are not being held accountable, she explains. "The stories I hear from working in China are horrible. If you gain just half a kilo, you'll be told that you are fat and they threaten to send you home."
 
But the girls often come from poor families, and "home" depends on the money they are bringing in.
 
Mr Graham wrote an angry Facebook post after Ivana's death, demanding answers and claiming this was about "more than just IVANA's tragic death. This is about all of us standing up and realising the issues that riddle our society and the modelling industry to be exact."
 
He is sure there already is a lot more that agencies could do, suggesting they should be responsible for girls younger than 18 and even provide adequate chaperones for the ones who are older.
 
Many of those campaigning for Ivana hope that her death might have a lasting impact and lead to change.
 
Yet Mr Graham is not too optimistic. "This tragedy will have no impact on the industry."
 
"Bigger stars have died in the same manner and nothing has changed."
IEPF issued a statement regarding Azerbaijani children at the UN Human Rights Council

News line

Mobilization Against Peace: Armenia's Return to a Radical Past
17:01 17.06.2025
Israel prepares more complex operation against Iran
13:50 17.06.2025
Armenia and India discuss evacuation of Indian students from Iran
12:01 17.06.2025
Navies of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan start joint exercises
11:58 17.06.2025
Azerbaijan Mine Action Agency: 1,258 hectares cleared of mines last week
11:53 17.06.2025
More than 600 citizens of 17 countries evacuated from Iran via Azerbaijan
11:44 17.06.2025
IEA: Azerbaijan falls short of OPEC+ quota by 0.08 million b/d in May
11:41 17.06.2025
Iran attacks military sites in Tel Aviv, Haifa with 'new weapon' and drones
11:37 17.06.2025
Foreign diplomats briefed on addressing IDP issues in Azerbaijan
11:33 17.06.2025
Israeli-linked hackers claim to have hacked Iran's Bank Sepah
11:29 17.06.2025
Turkic states' investment promotion platform launched
10:53 17.06.2025
Israel strengthens borders with Egypt and Jordan, some troops withdrawn from Gaza
15:16 16.06.2025
Israel says it has full control of Tehran's airspace
15:11 16.06.2025
Poland plans to evacuate its citizens in Israel via Jordan
15:07 16.06.2025
10 Tajik citizens evacuated from Iran via Azerbaijan
13:58 16.06.2025
Erdogan and Pezeshkian spoke by phone, discussing Turkey's mediation
13:52 16.06.2025
Some AZAL flights scheduled for today have been canceled, while others have been suspended until the end of the month
13:35 16.06.2025
Erdogan and Putin discussed the Israel Iran conflict
13:17 16.06.2025
Azerbaijani and Uzbek Foreign Ministers discuss security issues in the region J
13:03 16.06.2025
Presentation of books dedicated to the cultural heritage of Azerbaijan held in Paris
12:48 16.06.2025
Kremlin: Russia has handed over more than 6000 bodies to Ukraine
12:27 16.06.2025
It is still unclear what exactly the European Union wants
14:15 14.06.2025
The Caspian Sea is not a dividing, but a unifying factor.
14:02 14.06.2025
Trump and Zelensky Will Not Meet at NATO Summit Due to Risk of Conflict
12:04 14.06.2025
Fitch affirms Azerbaijan's investment grade, raises country ceiling to 'BBB'
10:46 14.06.2025
Safety of all passengers, including Russian citizens of Armenian origin, ensured at Baku airport - EXCLUSIVE
06:41 14.06.2025
Two dead, 21 injured in Iran's fourth wave of attacks on Israel
06:36 14.06.2025
Israel Temporarily Closes All Diplomatic Missions Worldwide
16:00 13.06.2025
Turkish Foreign Ministry condemns Israeli airstrikes on Iran
11:37 13.06.2025
Milli Majlis congratulates Azerbaijani president and first lady on National Salvation Day
11:35 13.06.2025
Over 10 int'l flights selected Heydar Aliyev International Airport as alternate aerodrome
10:30 13.06.2025
Media: Israel begins interception of Iranian drones
10:24 13.06.2025
Emirates cancels several flights to Jordan, Iraq, Iran and Lebanon
10:20 13.06.2025
Jordan shoots down several missiles and drones in its airspace
09:16 13.06.2025
New facts revealed in court regarding planting of landmines in Azerbaijan’s formerly occupied territories
07:55 13.06.2025
AZAL flights to Tel Aviv, Dubai, Tehran cancelled
06:50 13.06.2025
Iranian authorities inform IAEA Bushehr NPP safe — Grossi
06:32 13.06.2025
Jordan closes airspace amid Iran-Israel tensions
06:30 13.06.2025
Turkish ruling party condemns Israel's attack on Iran
06:21 13.06.2025
US Embassy staff in Israel instructed to remain at their locations
06:15 13.06.2025
Hamısı