Female Farm Worker Harassment a Huge Problem

San Francisco, CAFar from an emerging issue, harassment in the workplace has been around since the dawn of the industrialized world. And while the situation is improving, workplace harassment is an issue that just won't go away, even in the face of harassment law and a society that has little tolerance for harassment of any kind.

And yet it continues to happen—and a sector that is getting increased attention is the female farm worker, together with other low-wage female immigrant workers.

"No woman should have to sacrifice her dignity and safety in exchange for a paycheck," says Dolores Huerta, who led farm workers in the grape strike and boycott of the 1960s with Cesar Chavez and today is the president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation. "We can stop sexual violence in the workplace. But we must speak up."

It has been reported that sexual exploitation—or the oft-used 'sexploitation'—is a well-known scourge amongst female and migrant farm workers, although there has been little public awareness of the problem. It is almost as if these people don't exist in the eyes of society, critics have charged. This is a sector that has fallen through the cracks and has been made to suffer indignities and other affronts to their basic human rights.

How big is the problem? In a survey last year conducted amongst female farm workers and low-wage immigrant women in the Southeast, a whopping 77 percent revealed that sexual harassment is a major problem on the job.

Too many women remain silent for fear of losing their jobs and the capacity of caring for their families and loved ones.

This month however the awareness factor is being ramped up with the continuation of a campaign dubbed 'The Bandana Project.' A partnership between the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and various other advocacy organizations, the initiative was first roiled out in 2007 and this year will be front-and-center in displays and exhibits appearing across the United States, Canada and Mexico during the month of April—Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

While most specific events were focused on the date of April 8th—the National Day of Action for Sexual Assault Awareness Month—many areas will see a month-long observance.

The bandana was adopted as a symbol of solidarity in the cause to end sexual violence against farm worker women. There was a specific reason why the bandana was adopted: many women use a bandana, according to Food Business Week, to cover their faces and bodies in an attempt to ward off unwanted sexual attention that all too often leads to rape.

"These bandanas offer a message of hope and solidarity for women who often suffer in silence," said Monica Ramirez, project director for Esperanza: The Immigrant Women's Legal Initiative of the SPLC. "It is an opportunity to bring this problem into the light of day by encouraging women to hold their abusers accountable."

That's where the legal side of the issue comes in.

Obviously, these women can't complain to their employer, as it is often their employer who is abusing them. However, once the victims of workplace harassment understand the value of harassment law and what it could mean to them, justice can prevail. A group of workers can band together and seek the services of a sympathetic harassment law attorney. Many legal firms will not take a retainer and will agree to remuneration only when a settlement is reached. A workplace harassment rate of 77 percent, according to the 2008 survey, represents a huge number. It also represents a huge potential for justice, provided the victims come forward…