Grueling work, little pay, exposure to pesticides — these are
some of the hostile conditions that confront farm laborers in
America. For women who toil in the fields and orchards, there’s the
added worry of sexual harassment and assault. In recent years, a
movement to end such abuse has gained momentum through successful
legal battling and activist organizing. But as
Rebecca
Clarren reports in Ms. Magazine, the problem remains
widespread.
In the US, there are about 500,000 female farmworkers, of whom
the overwhelming majority are undocumented Latina immigrants who
don’t speak English, don’t belong to unions, and don’t have many
other employment options. For such reasons, women fieldworkers
hesitate to report sexually abusive bosses for fear of losing their
jobs, or worse, being deported. It’s been estimated that thousands
of women may have been victimized.
L?deres Campesinas, a female farmworker support group, strives
to give these women alternatives to silence. Organizers educate
women about their legal rights concerning sexual harassment. Often
there’s a struggle to get women to talk about sexual issues due to
stigmas in traditional Latino cultures. Fighting the same battle,
the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is exercising
its authority to file suits against workplaces where sexual
harassment persists. The EEOC has settled nine lawsuits, and in
December, it won a groundbreaking case against the Fresno
County-based agribusiness giant Harris Farms in which the plaintiff
was awarded nearly $1 million.
— Archie Ingersoll
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Green Motel
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