Rape In The Fields Analysis

Everyday women from all walks of life are sexually harassed: at their schools, at their jobs, in their streets. And often, women don’t have a clear path away from it. The documentary
Rape in the Fields highlights the sexual harassment and abuse faced daily by undocumented women in the agricultural industry, which though has been immense in multitude, is often silenced and ignored. This sexual harassment is often unwelcomed and performed involuntarily; is often exacerbated by power imbalances between the women and their attackers, and the ensuing vulnerability; and is often complicated by working with authorities in attempt to deal with their abuse.
In class we evaluated the legal definition of sexual harassment: “unwelcome sexual
advances,
A key nuance in sexual harassment is that it involves unwanted behavior- not involuntary behavior. This means a victim may voluntarily consent to sex even though they do not want to; the behavior is unwelcome when the victim considers it unwelcome, and therefore even with consent these actions can be considered sexual harassment by law.
As the definition of sexual harassment notifies, the women often consent to this abuse because refusal means they will most likely be fired. Because they are undocumented, illegal work in the fields is often their only source of revenue and they cannot afford to lose their jobs.
As the documentary shows by examining multiple workplaces, such as the Costner’s Egg
Factory and Evan’s Fruits, sexual harassment is so pernicious that other fields are likely to be the same. In addition, as undocumented workers many cannot go to the police. These realities combine to create a severe power imbalance between female workers and their bosses. The first woman in the video characterizes this power imbalance, saying, “They look at you like they