The reigning Miss World Australia Jasmine Stringer has revealed a vicious attack on her and a group of young aspiring models at a Gold Coast shopping centre last week.
Stringer had just finished a catwalk training session with a group of Top Model Australia contestants at a gym in Southport Park Shopping Centre about 6pm on Friday when the alleged incident occurred.
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The group of aspiring models, some as young as 14, were waiting for taxis outside the shopping centre when they noticed a woman acting strangely across the road.
The woman then confronted Jasmine and the aspiring models, allegedly physically and verbally attacking them, including pulling one of the contestants to the ground by her hair.
Joining Nat and Shirvo on Sunrise on Monday, Stringer explained the attack.
“I had a group of young aspiring young models in my catwalk class. I got a call saying there was some sort of altercation out the front. When I went out, one of the young models was (allegedly) hit by this person, a complete stranger.
“She was (allegedly) grabbed by the hair and other girls were trying to pull her away. I walked out to see what’s going on. The lady set her sights on me and came up and turned and (allegedly) hit me, and then turned her anger on a 14-year-old girl.
“It was terrifying for all involved and crazy because it was an attack on the women and children that were there and nobody else.”
Stringer said she has spoken to the girls involved, who were “pretty shocked and traumatised”.
“One had travelled here from Adelaide. She said she woke up the next morning, she’s 23, and travelled here by herself, and she went to get a coffee in the morning, and she was hyper aware and alert.”
Stringer also took aim at the police response.
“I called triple-0, and I was on the phone for almost 15 minutes and felt completely dismissed, to be quite honest, by the dispatcher.
“Nobody turned up in the time frame this was happening.
“I know our police force, I respect them so much, and they have a lot on their plate, but I feel like there’s some serious issues going on there and our calls aren’t being taken seriously.”
Stringer said she was also still “shocked” by the incident.
“I’ve had some time to process it — but it’s got me looking over my shoulder when I’m walking to my car.
“(For the young girl involved) I feel like that’s going to be life-changing for her in some ways because she’s probably completely traumatised.
“We are in such a crazy climate at the moment where we’re really campaigning for protection of violence against women and children.
“This is the second time in a month unfortunately that I have had to be in the position where I had to call in the position where I had to call in and report something and call triple-0 and in both times, in a 15 to 20-minute time frame, no police have turned up.
“We’re in a CBD.”
A Queensland Police Service spokeswoman told the Courier Mail newspaper a 46-year-old woman was given a notice to appear in court for commit public nuisance.
However, she was not charged in relation to any of the alleged attacks Jasmine Stringer or other members of the group.