澳彩开奖

Olivia came to the U.S. from Mexico to escape an abusive relationship.

But what the 46-year-old meatpacking worker experienced in this country was a greater horror that haunts her still.

Early one morning after a 12-hour shift, she found her car buried beneath a heavy Iowa snowfall. As she waited with a co-worker, one of her supervisors came walking toward her. The women were both wary of the man. He frequently made unwanted sexual advances inside the plant where they worked and was growing more aggressive.

Olivia鈥檚 co-worker quickly slipped away. It was 3 a.m. and she was left alone with the man. He invited her to climb into his truck, assuring her that he would be a gentleman. She refused.

The supervisor punched her in the face. Olivia crumpled.

Dazed, she fought back, but the supervisor鈥檚 powerful arms kept her pinned. He grabbed and tore at her clothing. She couldn鈥檛 overcome him. He struck her in the head and dragged her to an area where he savagely raped her.

Olivia didn鈥檛 report the attack to the authorities. She was scared of the police. At work, she tried to report the rape to management, but was met with indifference. She was even told the vicious attack wasn鈥檛 so bad because he 鈥渓eft you in one piece.鈥�

Olivia responded the way so many immigrant women believe they must respond in this situation: She stayed on the job.

鈥淚 had a lot of need, and if I didn鈥檛 go to work, what would I do?鈥� she later told a 澳彩开奖 researcher. 鈥淚 had to pay a lot of rent, many bills, my sick daughter, my sick parents who depend on me.鈥�

She buried the pain and shame of the attack. She had responsibilities to fulfill.

Tragically, Olivia鈥檚 story is all too common among immigrant women working in the U.S. food industry. These women plant, harvest, pack and process much of the nation鈥檚 food, but are routinely targets of sexual violence in the workplace.

When 150 immigrant women who have worked in the U.S. food industry were interviewed by the 澳彩开奖 for the 2010 report Injustice on Our Plates, we found that sexual harassment and even brutal sexual assaults by male co-workers and supervisors were a constant threat for many of the immigrant women employed in the U.S. food industry. Some of these women, who had worked in various states across the country, saw it as a danger that simply must be tolerated in order to receive a day鈥檚 pay.

A separate study published in 2010 found that among 150 women of Mexican descent working in the fields in California鈥檚 Central Valley, 80 percent said they had experienced sexual harassment. That compares to roughly half of all women in the U.S. workforce who say that they have experienced at least one incident.

Co-workers and supervisors preying on these women know they often face obstacles that keep them silent. Sometimes these women don鈥檛 know their legal rights. Other times, it鈥檚 their immigration status. And there鈥檚 always the power of fear and shame.

That鈥檚 why the 澳彩开奖 is launching a national campaign this month to raise awareness of the brutality faced by these women.

Throughout April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, my colleagues and I will be meeting with policymakers to discuss this issue. We will also host 鈥淜now Your Rights鈥� events across the country to inform immigrant women about their legal rights 鈥� giving them the tools to speak out and seek justice.

This effort kicks off today in Washington, D.C., where we will be meeting with members of Congress, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Labor. We also will participate in a panel discussion at the University of California Washington Center.

It鈥檚 an important step for addressing a human rights tragedy that鈥檚 been hidden from the view of most Americans. As one immigrant woman told us: 鈥淣o one sees the people in the field. We鈥檙e ignored.鈥�

Yet, we benefit from their labor every time we sit down at the dinner table. It鈥檚 their hands that slice and package the chicken breasts for our meals. It鈥檚 their long, hot days in the fields that allow us to have fresh tomatoes on our plates. And it鈥檚 their backs that bend to pick the lettuce in our salads.

It鈥檚 our responsibility to stop the sexual violence and exploitation that they suffer.