Bandannas Raise Awareness Of Abuse Among Female Farmworkers

Quickly, the women learn. Stay with the pack, whether the crop is oranges, tomatoes, strawberries. Don't work too fast, and under no circumstances fall behind. Don't go to the packing house alone. Dress like a man, sweating in baggy flannel shirts under the merciless Florida sun. And always bring a bandanna. Around the head, it hides the beauty of a young face. On the chest, it blocks gawking eyes as boxes of produce are lifted by crew leaders onto the truck. Around the waist, it helps mask curves.

According to one study, 90 percent of female farmworkers say sexual exploitation is a problem in the fields — not only by co-workers but by crew leaders and farm owners. "When people think of sexual harassment, they think of inappropriate comments," says Monica Ramirez of the Southern Poverty Law Center. "For farmworker women, it often rises to the level of rape."

TAMPA - More than anything, the young mother wanted her children in a permanent home so they could succeed in elementary school. They must not end up like her and their father, hunched over rows of crops all day in eastern Hillsborough County's sun-baked fields.

So the family settled into a trailer. With hard work, they could stay put, no longer chasing the harvest.When the owner of the farm began sexually assaulting her, she kept it a secret. If her hot-headed husband learned of it, he might take matters into his own hands. If he went to prison, she and her children would be destitute. She pretended to be too sick to work, but that caused strife in the home. They desperately needed the few dollars she earned each day.

When Lourdes Villanueva finally heard the woman's story, the worker with the Redlands Christian Migrant Association in Plant City tried to help. But the woman was ashamed and terrified — of immigration officials, of deportation, of her husband's wrath, of the boss, of getting her family blackballed from working again. No, she would handle it. No policia, no. When Villanueva visited her trailer this month, the family was gone.

Because farmworker victims of sexual assault are too frightened to come forward, no one knows how many are affected, says Monica Ramirez, head of the Esperanza project at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Alabama. Studies suggest as many as 90 percent think it's a problem.Ramírez established Esperanza, which means "hope" in Spanish, as a statewide project in Florida to combat sexual exploitation of workers. She met with women in Hillsborough County and is convinced the problems are widespread here.

This month, the center is sponsoring the national Bandana Project, encouraging universities and community agencies that serve migrant workers to hang decorated bandannas to bring awareness to the plight of sexually exploited women. The bandanna was chosen as a symbol because it commonly is used in the fields to camouflage feminine traits.

"The women never want to dress in a provocative way," says Villanueva, migrant farmworker advocate for the Redlands center. She calls it a shame that women must endure discomfort to try to keep safe. "It's so hot, but you really have to cover up," she says. "You're all dirty and sweaty, but after the third or fourth time having men stare at you, looking down your shirt as you lift up the boxes to them, you say, 'OK, where's my bandanna?' "

Lawmakers Are Noticing Cristina Dragustinovis, coordinator for the Redlands facility in Plant City, says the owner of a farm propositioned her when she was in her 20s. "He said if I would sexually do something for him, I wouldn't have to work." She could refuse him because she worked alongside several male family members and they helped her feel safe.

"Sometimes the women feel they can't do nothing," Dragustinovis says. "You think the boss is being nice, but he's really a wolf." Villanueva says younger workers especially are used to doing what they're told. They're so vulnerable because they don't want to disobey the boss. If he wants you to go somewhere, you go."

Mary Bauer, director of the Immigrant Justice Project at the SPLC, testified April 15 about farmworker exploitation before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. The hearing was called by senators who expressed concern about the treatment of Florida workers after the collapse of a plan to get fast-food industry leaders to help boost their wages. Testifying were farmworker representatives and Reginald Brown, executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, who said his members treat their workers well and pay fair wages.

Bauer told the senators that of the estimated 70,000 female farmworkers in Florida, hundreds if not thousands face chronic sexual harassment on the job. They often are forced to have sex with supervisors to get or keep jobs, she said, and they put up with a "constant barrage of grabbing, touching and propositions for sex by their supervisors."

Bauer testified that her organization represented five Haitian women who were sexually harassed while working in the packing house of Gargiulo Inc. in Immokalee. The lawsuit alleged that the women were subjected to repeated, unwelcome sexual advances by their supervisor and then faced retaliation after they complained. The women, who worked as tomato graders, rejected the man's advances, then were suspended without pay, subjected to adverse working conditions and either fired or not rehired for a new packing season.

In reaching a settlement in 2007, Gargiulo, one of Florida's largest fruit and vegetable wholesalers, agreed to pay $215,000 and entered into a consent decree to change its practices, Bauer testified.Lawmakers called for a federal review of Florida tomato picker wages and greater oversight of worker conditions.

'It's Just Heartbreaking' Ramirez says the few studies that have been done on sexual exploitation reveal a pattern. "It's like a Catch-22," she says. "The women know the abusers won't get in trouble, and the abusers know it, too. They'll use threats against the woman's family or say, 'I'll have your husband and children deported.' "If they're undocumented, they are certain no one will believe them."

Getting the victims to come forward is daunting, says Manuel Zurita, director of the Tampa field office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. "In 2006, we had an event at the Beth-El Mission in Wimauma to educate women about these issues," he says. "After that, I went there once a week and sat at a desk. But no one came." Eventually he gave up but says he plans to try again with weekly visits at the Hispanic Services Council in Plant City. "I know they won't come to my office in downtown Tampa," he says. Not only is the distance prohibitive, but his office overlooks the Greyhound bus terminal, where agents of the U.S. Border Patrol watch for undocumented workers. "They won't be coming in my front door."He stresses that it makes no difference to the EEOC whether victims are undocumented. He doesn't ask.

"Getting them to trust us — that's our biggest problem." The same holds for sex crimes reported to local sheriff's offices, says Carlos Cuevas, a deputy with the Hillsborough County refugee victimization unit. Deputies will not ask whether a worker is documented. But victims remain suspicious. "A lot of them come from countries where law enforcement is corrupt or where you have to pay money to get help," he says.

Cuevas says that even when a victim comes forward, she often refuses to testify. Because the court process can take months and victims are forced to keep on the move with the harvest, it can be difficult to get them into court. Even if they are in town, missing a day in the field can be costly. "These are law-abiding people, and there are so many people who are committing crimes against them," he says. "It's just heartbreaking."

Law enforcement has a new tool to encourage reporting. Immigration services in October began issuing U Visas to undocumented workers who report crimes and assist law enforcement. The visa allows the person and his or her family to remain in the country for four years. During that time, they can apply for citizenship. Cuevas says his department can refer people to lawyers who do the U Visa paperwork free. But he worries it won't be enough. "They fear entrapment, which is totally not true," he says. "They need to have faith in the system, which they don't have."


DONNA KOEHN -- The Tampa Tribune
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