Agriculture is one of the most dangerous industries in the US, with workers exposed to vehicles, chemicals and heavy equipment. Women working on farms face another risk: sexual assault.
Gina Solomon, University of California, San Francisco
Starting Feb. 6, 2020, California farmers will be barred from using chlorpyrifos on their crops. The Trump administration says more study is needed, but other states are also moving ahead.
Stian Rice, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Since Reconstruction, states have leased prisoners to US industries. That diminished in the 20th century, but now it’s resurging, with prisoners leased to harvest food for American consumers.
Female migrant farm workers across North America are vulnerable to sexual abuse and assault because the systems set up to temporarily employ them offer no protections or access to citizenship.