Female Field Workers, Essay Example

Female field workers who are not legal residents in the United States are easy targets for sexual harassment and abuse. Their vulnerability is a consequence of several risk factors, including the socioeconomic and legal status of these individuals. The combination of these two factors leads to a third variable, in which supervisors and managers believe that they are able to do whatever they wish to these women because they feel that since they pay them, they own them. These factors contribute to the vulnerability of these women because if they report sexual harassment to the authorities, they will face deportation. In addition, many illegal immigrants who work the fields are poor and have very few options for work. They cannot fight against their employers when they are being sexually harassed because they might lose their job on this basis, and therefore be unable to support themselves and their family.

It is necessary for law enforcement and social service providers to step in and help these individuals. Although these women are committing a crime by working illegally in this country, their employers are committing more severe criminal behavior. It is illegal to hire undocumented workers, and sexual harassment is illegal regardless of the residency status of the individual it is exerted on. It is important to find ways that will encourage these women to step forward and report the crimes to prevent them from occurring in the future. One way that law enforcement could assist with this measure is to allow reports of sexual harassment, abuse, and rape from these individuals with a promise that this information will not be used to have them or their family removed from the country. Although these reports cannot be anonymous, they will be seen as an attempt to help law enforcement catch criminals, and this will be awarded with amnesty.

In addition, social service providers are in a unique position to help these women. Although they are not able to alleviate the immediate financial strain on these individuals, they will be able to investigate reports of abuse. If social workers find out that employers are abusing their employees, they will be able to collect evidence and report this abuse to the government. This could be done in a manner that the abused employees remain anonymous. The goal of this report would be to have these farms be shut down and the owners and supervisors directly involved in the abuse prohibited from working in this type of job position in addition to facing jail time. To ensure that the women don’t feel the economic strains of the farm shutting down, the social service provider will help place them in a new position which has already been screened and approved as safe.

Many employers of illegal immigrants believe that they could do whatever they want to them because no one will be able to stop them. It is therefore essential to make a law that will discourage this type of behavior. Although these individuals are not here legally, it is still the responsibility of this country to ensure that everyone within it is treated lawfully. As a consequence, current labor laws for legal workers in the United States should be extended to illegal immigrant workers. This will require that these individuals are treated fairly, paid overtime when relevant, and be safe. Violations of this can result in fines, jail time for those who are directly responsible, and closure of the business.

It is important to understand that although these women are illegal immigrants, it is our ethical duty to ensure that they remain protected while in our country. Their illegal status does not make them less human or deserving of these harsh treatments. Employers who abuse their field workers are committing a severe crime and must be stopped. By acting this way, these employers are essentially treating their workers as slaves, and we must discourage this behavior at all costs.