WASHINGTON, DC - It’s no doubt that the Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) is one of the industry organizations standing at the forefront of workforce development and support. Pushing forward in its admirable mission, the organization has launched an annual campaign set to raise awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace, particularly in the ag sector.
“We understand this can be a challenging and uncomfortable topic to discuss,” said LeAnne Ruzzamenti, Director of Marketing and Communications for EFI. “But data shows that farmworkers face sexual harassment at a rate two to three times higher than other work sectors—and that makes this a problem we can’t ignore. Farmworkers often fear losing their jobs, being removed from the United States, or denied entry for speaking out. Language barriers can also prevent them from understanding they should not tolerate inappropriate behavior which could include verbal or physical assault from anyone, including supervisors or coworkers.”
With the month of April recognized as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, EFI is helping to provide valuable resources on this important topic. According to a press release, EFI offers a toolkit on its website that provides three awareness posters and an informational one-pager available for download, as well as links to access the ¡Basta! Prevent Sexual Harassment in Agriculture toolkit and training module.
EFI supported the Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center, a part of the University of Washington Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, in developing the ¡Basta! toolkit, which is free to use and available for download.
As the release went on to note, research from the Southern Poverty Law Center estimates that 80 percent of all Mexican immigrant farmworkers report being sexually harassed on the job site, while advocacy groups estimate that as many as 85 percent of women have experienced sexual harassment at work.
“EFI is proud to bring resources to the industry that assist employees at all levels with having these challenging conversations,” Ruzzamenti concluded. “We are committed to facilitating culture change to improve the lives of farmworkers and create safer food and a more responsive, skilled labor force. Openly advocating for zero tolerance of sexual harassment is just one way we can facilitate that.”
To read more about the company's efforts, click here, and to access the comprehensive toolkit and more, click here.
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