A new report from Human Rights Watch titled Cultivating Fear:The Vulnerability of Immigrant Farmworkers in the US to Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment,
. . . describes rape, stalking, unwanted touching, exhibitionism, or vulgar and obscene language by supervisors, employers, and others in positions of power.
Critically, the
report also found that,
. . . most said they had not reported these or other workplace abuses, fearing reprisals
The
Washington Post reported on the findings:
An estimated 630,000 of the 3 million people who perform migrant and seasonal farm work are female. The federal government estimates that 60 percent of them are illegal aliens.
Farm workers are a vulnerable immigrant population, with little to no meaningful reporting mechanisms and no protection from reprisal. The
HRW report explained the violence and sexual harassment these women and girls endure with far too much regularity and the disturbing consequences:
The impact of such violence and harassment can be devastating. Survivors of sexual violence experience various responses to the trauma, including depression, physical pain,and damaged relationships with their partners and families.
Beyond the tragic costs for sexual assault victims in the farm worker community, there is another dangerous result for the American public: the safety of our food supply. Farm workers are a historically vulnerable population not even given the ability to speak out on behalf of their own human rights, much less to blow the whistle on violations of public health and safety in our food supply. If farm workers are unable to report something as severe as sexual assault and harassment, there is little likelihood that they will be equipped to report on contamination or regulatory violations in the farming industry.
According to the HRW report, the instances of retaliation severely impact farm workers' livelihoods:
Farmworkers who push back against the abuse, or report incidents to management, say
they suffer retaliation, getting fewer hours, more abusive treatment, or, worst of all, losing their jobs altogether. Because many farmworkers work with family members, retaliation can mean the victim is fired along with her family, resulting in loss of income to the entire household. Those who live in employer-provided housing can even find themselves homeless. Some farmworkers who had filed sexual harassment lawsuits reported they were “blackballed” and shut out of jobs at other farms.
My organization, the
Government Accountability Project has a program - the
Food Integrity Campaign - aimed at,
. . . strategically working to alter the relationship of power between the food industry and consumers; protecting the rights of those who speak out against the practices that compromise food integrity; and empowering industry whistleblowers and citizen activists.
By empowering food workers and implementing safe, effective reporting mechanisms, we will not only protect a vulnerable population of people, giving them a voice to curb human rights abuses, but we will also protect our food supply and improve accountability in the farm industry. Win - Win.