Female farmworkers, mostly migrants, at risk in the U.S
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The sexual harassment of female farmworkers has long been a dirty secret of migrant labor, says this Los Angeles Times editorial.
Studies are sparse, but one by the Southern Poverty Law Center found that 90% of female farmworkers in California surveyed in 1993 said sexual harassment was a serious problem. Vulnerable because of their poverty, their limited English skills and often their immigration status, these women are easy prey. Harassers sometimes threaten to report illegal immigrants or their relatives if victims do not remain silent, advocates say.