{"id":34703,"date":"2023-07-31T03:36:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-31T03:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=34703"},"modified":"2023-08-02T10:23:59","modified_gmt":"2023-08-02T10:23:59","slug":"sexual-violence-is-a-pervasive-threat-for-female-farm-workers-heres-how-the-us-could-reduce-their-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/sexual-violence-is-a-pervasive-threat-for-female-farm-workers-heres-how-the-us-could-reduce-their-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"Sexual violence is a pervasive threat for female farm workers \u2013 here\u2019s how the US could reduce their\u00a0risk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kathleen Sexsmith<\/a>, Penn State<\/a><\/em>; Francisco Alfredo Reyes<\/a>, Penn State<\/a><\/em>, and Megan A. M. Griffin<\/a>, Connecticut College<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Television crime shows often are set in cities, but in its third season, ABC\u2019s \u201cAmerican Crime<\/a>\u201d took a different tack. It opened on a tomato farm in North Carolina, where it showed a young woman being brutally raped in a field by her supervisor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople die all the time on that farm. Nobody cares. Women get raped, regular,\u201d another character tells a police interrogator<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The show\u2019s writers did their research. Studies show that 80% of Mexican and Mexican American women farmworkers in the U.S. have experienced some form of sexual harassment at work<\/a>. Rape is common enough for some to nickname their workplace the \u201cfields of panties<\/a>.\u201d For comparison, about 38% of women in the U.S. report experiencing some kind of workplace sexual harassment<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a recent report<\/a>, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization called for transformative changes to the formal and informal social systems that disempower women who work on farms and in the food sector around the world. While violence against women in agriculture may seem like an issue mainly experienced in developing countries, the truth is that it also happens all too often to women and girls on farms in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we see it, sexual exploitation perpetrated by men in positions of power instills fear that keeps farm laborers obedient<\/a>, despite precarious working conditions \u2013 and keeps fruits and vegetables cheap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vulnerable workers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In our research on rural development<\/a>, agriculture<\/a> and rural gender inequality<\/a>, we have found that gender-based violence against female workers is frighteningly common on U.S. farms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the U.N., violence against women and girls<\/a> includes \u201cany gender-based act that creates sexual, psychological, or physical harm or suffering.\u201d Men and boys can, of course, experience gender-based violence on U.S. farms, but to our knowledge no corroborating research exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most often, sexual violence against women is committed by men in positions of power<\/a>, such as foremen, farm labor contractors, farm owners and co-workers. Unfortunately, farm workers often buy into the myth<\/a> that women bring sexual harassment on themselves. This belief makes it difficult for victims to get support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immigrant women farm workers are vulnerable because of power imbalances<\/a> in their male-dominated workplaces. Women represent 28%<\/a> of the nation\u2019s farm workers, making them a minority on many farms. Most are immigrants from Latin America, and many are undocumented<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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