(New York) – Hundreds of thousands of immigrant farm worker women and girls in the United States face a high risk of sexual violence and sexual harassment in their workplaces because US authorities and employers fail to protect them adequately, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The current US Senate bill reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) would go some way toward fixing the problem and should be enacted, but much more needs to be done, Human Rights Watch said.
The 95-page report, “Cultivating Fear: The Vulnerability of Immigrant Farm workers 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. Most farm workers interviewed said they had experienced such treatment or knew others who had. And most said they had not reported these or other workplace abuses, fearing reprisals. Those who had filed sexual harassment claims or reported sexual assault to the police had done so with the encouragement and assistance of survivor advocates or attorneys in the face of difficult challenges.
“Rape, groping, and obscene language by
abusive supervisors should not be part of the hard labor conditions that
immigrant farm workers endure while producing the nation’s food,” said Grace Meng,
researcher in the US Program at Human Rights Watch and author of the
report. “Instead of being valued for their contributions, immigrant farm
workers are subject to a dysfunctional immigration system and labor
laws that exclude them from basic protections most workers take for
granted.”
To continue reading, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment