We explore workplace sexual harassment (WSH) myth acceptance, bystander discomfort, and beliefs among farmworkers in California, USA, and Michoacán, Mexico. Surveys were conducted with the guidance of community advisory boards among 197 farmworkers (38 men and 59 women in California; 40 men and 60 women in Michoacán). Men and women in Michoacán had similar discomfort and myth acceptance. California women reported more discomfort than men but were similar in myth acceptance. The highest levels of myth acceptance ranged from 66 to 88%. The majority (85–90%) believed that something must be done to prevent WSH in agriculture.
Andrade-RubioK. L. (2016). Víctimas de trata: Mujeres migrantes, trabajo agrario y acoso sexual en Tamaulipas. CienciaUAT, 11(1), 22–36. https://doi.org/10.29059/cienciauat.v11i1.654
2.
AnthonyM.WilliamsJ. M.AveryA. M. (2008). Health needs of migrant and seasonal farmworkers. Journal of Community Health Nursing, 25(3), 153–160. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370010802221768
3.
ArcuryT. A.WigginsM. F.BrookeC.JensenA.SummersP.MoraD. C.QuandtS. A. (2017). Using “policy briefs” to present scientific results of CBPR: Farmworkers in North Carolina. Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 11(2), 137–147. https://doi.org/10.1353/cpr.2017.0018
4.
Arellano GálvezM. (2014). Violencia laboral contra jornaleras agrícolas en tres comunidades del noroeste de México. Región y Sociedad, 26(ESPECIAL4), 155–187.
5.
BarthS. K.KimerlingR. E.PavaoJ.McCutcheonS. J.BattenS. V.DursaE.PetersonM. R.SchneidermanA. I. (2016). Military sexual trauma among recent veterans: Correlates of sexual assault and sexual harassment. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 50(1), 77–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2015.06.012
6.
BerkowitzA. D. (2010). Fostering healthy norms to prevent violence and abuse: The social norms approach. In K. Kaufman (Ed.), The prevention of sexual violence: A practitioner’s sourcebook (pp. 147–171). NEARI Press.
7.
BucklerD. G.AlmodovarA.SnobelenP.AbellaB. S.BlewerA.LearyM. (2019). Observing the stages of bystander intervention in virtual reality simulation. World Journal of Emergency Medicine, 10(3), 145. https://doi.org/10.5847/wjem.j.1920-8642.2019.03.003
8.
CortinaL. M. (2004). Hispanic perspectives on sexual harassment and social support. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30(5), 570–584. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167203262854
9.
De JudicibusM.McCabeM. P. (2001). Blaming the target of sexual harassment: Impact of gender role, sexist attitudes, and work role. Sex Roles, 44(7–8), 401–417. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011926027920
10.
DiazT.BuiN. H. (2017). Subjective well-being in Mexican and Mexican American women: The role of acculturation, ethnic identity, gender roles, and perceived social support. Journal of Happiness Studies, 18(2), 607–624. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-016-9741-1
11.
DiehlC.GlaserT.BohnerG. (2014). Face the consequences: Learning about victim’s suffering reduces sexual harassment myth acceptance and men’s likelihood to sexually harass. Aggressive Behavior, 40(6), 489–503. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21553
12.
DriesmansK.VandenboschL.EggermontS. (2015). Playing a videogame with a sexualized female character increases adolescents’ rape myth acceptance and tolerance toward sexual harassment. Games for Health Journal, 4(2), 91–94. https://doi.org/10.1089/g4h.2014.0055
13.
ExpósitoF.HerreraA.Valor-SeguraI.HerreraM. C.LozanoL. M. (2014). Spanish adaptation of the Illinois Sexual Harassment Myth Acceptance. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 17, https://doi.org/10.1017/sjp.2014.42
14.
FitzgeraldL. F.DrasgowF.MagleyV. J. (1999). Sexual harassment in the armed forces: A test of an integrated model. Military Psychology, 11(3), 329–343. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327876mp1103_7
15.
FitzgeraldL. F.SwanS.FischerK. (1995). Why didn’t she just report him? The psychological and legal implications of women’s responses to sexual harassment. Journal of Social Issues, 51(1), 117–138. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1995.tb01312.x
16.
FloresN. M. (2018). Trinity and justice: A theological response to the sexual assault of migrant women.
17.
GodsilR. D.TroppL. R.GoffP. A.PowellJ.MacFarlaneJ. (2016). The effects of gender roles, implicit bias, and stereotype threat on the lives of women and girls. The Science of Equality, 2(1), 14–15. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470561119
18.
GurungS.VentuneacA.RendinaH. J.SavareseE.GrovC.ParsonsJ. T. (2018). Prevalence of military sexual trauma and sexual orientation discrimination among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender military personnel: A descriptive study. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 15(1), 74–82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-017-0311-z
19.
HardiesK. (2019). Personality, social norms, and sexual harassment in the workplace. Personality and Individual Differences, 151, Article 109496. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2019.07.006
20.
HernandezT.GabbardS. (2019). Findings from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) 2015–2016. A demographic and employment profile of United States farmworkers. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Washington, District of Columbia.
21.
HobbsM.CooperM. (2017). The changing gender diversity of the California vineyard labor force and the implications for grape production. Catalyst: Discovery into Practice, 3, 99–102. https://doi.org/10.5344/catalyst.2017.17008
22.
KimN. J.-E.VásquezV. B.TorresE.NicolaR. B.KarrC. (2016). Breaking the silence: Sexual harassment of Mexican women farmworkers. Journal of Agromedicine, 21(2), 154–162. https://doi.org/10.1080/1059924X.2016.1143903
23.
KringsF.FacchinS. (2009). Organizational justice and men’s likelihood to sexually harass: The moderating role of sexism and personality. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(2), 501–510. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013391
24.
LiJ.CardenasG.EspinosaL.SerranoC. (2020). Yearbook of migration and remittances Mexico 2020. BBVA Bancomer Foundation and CONAPO.
25.
LiangY.ParkY. (2022). Because I know how it hurts: Employee bystander intervention in customer sexual harassment through empathy and its moderating factors. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 27(3), 339–348. https://doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000305
26.
LonswayK. A.CortinaL. M.MagleyV. J. (2008). Sexual harassment mythology: Definition, conceptualization, and measurement [journal article]. Sex Roles, 58(9), 599–615. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-007-9367-1
MallettR. K.FordT. E.WoodzickaJ. A. (2019). Ignoring sexism increases women’s tolerance of sexual harassment. Self and Identity, 7(20), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2019.1678519
29.
MarshB.MilofskyC.KissamE.ArcuryT. A. (2015). Understanding the role of social factors in farmworker housing and health. NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy, 25(3), 313–333. https://doi.org/10.1177/1048291115601020
30.
McCannC.Tomaskovic-DeveyD.BadgettL. (2018). Employers’ responses to sexual harassment. Available at SSRN 3407960.
31.
McDonaldP. (2012). Workplace sexual harassment 30 years on: A review of the literature. International Journal of Management Reviews, 14(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2370.2011.00300.x
32.
MitchellD. C.AndrewsT.SchenkerM. B. (2015). Pasos saludables: A pilot randomized intervention study to reduce obesity in an immigrant farmworker population. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 57(10), 1039–1046. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000000535
33.
MoylanC. A.WoodL. (2016). Sexual harassment in social work field placements: Prevalence and characteristics. Affilia, 31(4), 405–417. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109916644643
34.
MulaphongD. (2019). Exploring the existence and correlates of sexual harassment and workplace aggression in the US Federal Government. University of Georgia.
35.
MurphyJ.SamplesJ.MoralesM.ShadbehN. (2015). “They talk like that, but we keep working”: Sexual harassment and sexual assault experiences among Mexican indigenous farmworker women in Oregon. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 17(6), 1834–1839. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-014-9992-z
36.
OswaldS. E. S. (2019). Violent gender social representations and the family as a social institution in transition in Mexico. In Climate change, disasters, sustainability transition and peace in the Anthropocene (pp. 153–174). Springer.
37.
PariserA.HirkoK. A.MuñozG. M.Pico-GleasonG.RobinsonC.KerverJ. M. (2022). Barriers to access for cervical and breast cancer screenings among female Latinx migrant farmworkers in the US: A scoping literature review. Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 13, 21501319211073252. https://doi.org/10.1177/21501319211073252
38.
PinaA.GannonT. A. (2009). An overview of the literature on antecedents, perceptions and behavioural consequences of sexual harassment. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 18(2), 209–232. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552600.2010.501909
39.
PradoK.Rivera-HerediaM. E.Martínez-ServínL. G.Guzmán-CarrilloK.McCurdyS. (2020). It’s wrong because it could be my sister, wife, or mother”: Workplace sexual harassment among men and women farmworkers in USA and Mexico. Journal of Agromedicine, 2(26), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/1059924X.2020.1825245
40.
PradoK. Y.Rivera-HerediaM.-E.McCurdyS. A. (2021). Exposure to workplace sexual harassment among women and men farmworkers in USA and Mexico. Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health, 4(27), 220–230. https://doi.org/10.13031/jash.14514
41.
RamosA. K.DuysenE.Carvajal-SuarezM.TrinidadN. (2020). Virtual outreach: Using social media to reach Spanish-speaking agricultural workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Agromedicine, 25(4), 353–356. https://doi.org/10.1080/1059924X.2020.1814919
42.
RichmanJ. A.RospendaK. M.NawynS. J.FlahertyJ. A.FendrichM.DrumM. L.JohnsonT. P. (1999). Sexual harassment and generalized workplace abuse among university employees: Prevalence and mental health correlates. American Journal of Public Health, 89(3), 358–363. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.89.3.358
43.
Rivera-HerediaM. E.Pérez-PadillaM. L. (2012). Evaluación de los recursos psicológicos. Uaricha, 9(19), 1–19.
44.
SchneiderK. T.SwanS.FitzgeraldL. F. (1997). Job-related and psychological effects of sexual harassment in the workplace: Empirical evidence from two organizations. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(3), 401–415. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.82.3.401
45.
ValentínN.Rivera-HerediaM. E.MbawmbawJ.NietoR.TéllezR. (2005). Liderazgo transcultural: Factor para la competitividad de las organizaciones. Investigación universitaria multidisciplinaria, 4(8), 61–71.
46.
VillegasP. E. (2019). “I made myself small like a cat and ran away”: Workplace sexual harassment, precarious immigration status and legal violence. Journal of Gender Studies, 6(28), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2019.1604326
47.
WaughI. M. (2010). Examining the sexual harassment experiences of Mexican immigrant farmworking women. Violence Against Women, 16(3), 237–261. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801209360857
48.
WillnessC. R.SteelP.LeeK. (2007). A meta-analysis of the antecedents and consequences of workplace sexual harassment. Personnel Psychology, 60(1), 127–162. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2007.00067.x
