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Sexual Violence And The American Agricultural Industry Essay

Decent Essays

In the American agricultural industry, half a million women work in fields and most are undocumented. This deprives them of control over their own bodies. Dolores Huerta deemed the case of sexual violence in the agricultural industry as an epidemic. Not only does intense sexual violence occur in the fields, but the positions these women are in leave them more vulnerable than most victims of sexual violence. Many of the women are non-English speaking Hispanics.A large fraction of these women are undocumented workers with immense financial responsibility and these isolated jobs are often the most reliable source of income. These factors cause great vulnerability because many of these women risk losing their jobs and deportation if they come forward and confront their attacker. Women in this situation are left with no voice or power to speak their minds and change the system, therefore, it is unsurprising that within this industry, no one has been criminally charged with assault, and a successful civil suit is difficult to pursue. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission views the issue of sexual assault in the agricultural industry as one of the biggest problems requiring immediate action. Bill Tamayo was assigned to investigate ways to help women in the fields obtain legal help and end this problem. There is a high price paid when working in the fields. An account told by one of the women speaking the documentary stated that a foreman of a farm told a man that there was no

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