This project was created in response to concerns voiced by farmworker health and social service providers about the occupational health risks of women agricultural workers, as well as increased media and legal attention regarding sexual harassment in the agricultural workplace. The hidden nature of this issue profoundly impacts women’s ability to work safely in agriculture. The agricultural industry also shares its concern about the lack of culturally appropriate educational resources available to address this problem.
The overall objective of this project is to examine and address sexual harassment as an occupational health hazard in the Washington agricultural workforce. The short-term goals of this project are to: 1) develop educational and informational products that address sexual harassment in the agricultural workplace; and 2) effectively disseminate these products through key stakeholders and throughout the Yakima Valley using a variety of methods. The long-term goal is to share this educational and informational strategy with other agricultural communities throughout Washington. The PNASH Center has been working with stakeholders throughout Washington State to develop a sexual harassment prevention program specific to the needs of this industry and culturally appropriate for Latino farmworkers.
This project won the 2020 Award Winner for American Public Health Assoc. Public Health Education & Health Promotion. It has also received additional funding ($5,000) from the University of Washington’s Center for Communication, Difference, & Equity to co-create a Spanish graphic novella for the ¡Basta! toolkit with farmworker women.
Partners and Advisories:
- Washington State Human Rights Commission
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- Northwest Justice Project
- Washington State Growers League
- Equitable Food Initiative, Inc.
- Washington State Department of Agriculture
Resources:
Kim N.J., Vásquez V.B., Torres E., Nicola R.M., Karr C.(2016) Breaking the Silence: Sexual Harassment of Mexican Women Farmworkers. Journal Argomedicine 21(2): 154-62. Facebook: Preventing Sexual Harassment in Agriculture
Principal Investigators:
Jody Early, PhD, MS, MCHES, CHC, Associate Professor, School of Nursing and Health Studies, University of Washington, Bothell, and
Victoria A. Breckwich Vásquez, DrPH, MPH, MA, Affiliate Assistant Professor, School of Nursing and Health Studies, University of Washington, Bothell.
PNASH Pilot Project 2019-2021