'Bandana Project' to Spotlight Sexual Exploitation of Farmworker Women

MONTGOMERY, Ala., April 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Residents of 25 states
and three other countries will take a stand against the sexual exploitation of
farmworker women and other low-wage female immigrant workers in April as part
of the "Bandana Project," a partnership between the Southern Poverty Law
Center (SPLC) and community groups, universities and other advocacy
organizations to raise awareness and educate these women about their rights.

The Bandana Project is a national campaign, launched in 2007, that adopted the
bandana as a symbol of solidarity to end sexual violence against farmworker
women because many use bandanas on the job to cover their faces and bodies in
an attempt to ward off unwanted sexual attention that often leads to rape.

The SPLC and its partners will invite members of farmworker communities and
others to decorate bandanas that will be displayed in museums, community
centers and schools. A complete list of the more than 100 Bandana Project
partners and their websites can be found at www.bandanaproject.org.

The exhibits will be displayed in the United States, Canada, and Mexico during
the month of April - Sexual Assault Awareness Month. April 8 is the National
Day of Action for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, but some of the Bandana
Project partners have organized events for the entire month.

Sexual exploitation has received little public attention but is well-known to
farmworker women, many of whom remain silent about sexual harassment on the
job. William R. Tamayo, regional attorney for the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission in San Francisco, wrote in a 2000 report that "the sexual
harassment of farmworker women is a widespread problem." In a 2008 informal
survey of farmworker and low-wage immigrant women in the Southeast, 77 percent
said that sexual harassment is a major problem on the job.

"These bandanas offer a message of hope and solidarity for women who often
suffer in silence," said Monica Ramirez, project director for Esperanza: The
Immigrant Women's Legal Initiative of the SPLC. "It is an opportunity to bring
this problem into the light of day by encouraging women to hold their abusers
accountable."

The SPLC and other advocacy groups also will join together to offer
educational programs across the nation throughout April to inform farmworker
women of their rights and the resources available to help them. The SPLC has
produced an informational kit for use during these programs to educate
farmworker women on the steps they can take to combat sexual harassment and
violence.

In addition, Dolores Huerta, who led farmworkers in the grape strike and
boycott of the 1960s with Cesar Chavez and today is the president of the
Dolores Huerta Foundation, has recorded a public service announcement
encouraging farmworker women to speak out.

"No woman should have to sacrifice her dignity and safety in exchange for a
paycheck," Huerta said. "We can stop sexual violence in the workplace. But we
must speak up."

The Southern Poverty Law Center is a nonprofit civil rights organization that
combats bigotry and discrimination through litigation, education and advocacy.
For more information, visit www.splcenter.org.

SOURCE Southern Poverty Law Center

Monica Ramirez, +1-334-324-5456, or Tikia Young, +1-334-956-8417, both of the
Southern Poverty Law Center