Sexual Violence in the Workplace

We continue with our fight to eradicate sexual and domestic violence against immigrant women and girls. This section provides information, resources, and training materials on identifying and working with immigrant survivors of workplace sexual violence.

General Resources on Workplace Sexual Violence

ASISTA Guide: Stop Workplace Sexual Violence!

ASISTA Stop Workplace Sexual Violence Main Guide: Assisting Immigrant Survivors of Workplace Sexual Violence: A guide for advocates, organizers, and leaders to advance immigrant women's gender equality rights in the workplace (2016)

This project was supported by a Grant No. 2009-TA-AX-K009 awarded by the United States Department of Justice, Office of Violence Against Women. The opinions, findings, and recommendations expressed in this document are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.

Guia de ASISTA: Detenga la Violencia Sexual en el Trabajo!

ASISTA Detener la Violencia Sexual en el Trabajo: Asistiendo a Inmigrantes Sobrevivientes de Violencia Sexual en el Trabajo: Una guía para los defensores, organizadores y lideres, para promover los derechos de igualdad de genero de las mujeres inmigrantes en el lugar de trabajo (2016).

Frontline: Rape in the Fields (June 2013)

FRONTLINE and Univision partner to tell the story of the hidden price many migrant women working in America’s fields and packing plants pay to stay employed and provide for their families. This investigation is the result of a yearlong reporting effort by veteran FRONTLINE correspondent Lowell Bergman, the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley, and the Center for Investigative Reporting.

Order Granting Motion for Protective Order Regarding U visa Information (May 14, 2018)

We recently won a good order from a federal district court judge in Eastern Washington granting our Motion for Protective Order Regarding U Visa Information. The court prohibited all discovery of U visa information and documents in a case where we represent five farmworker women on sexual harassment and retaliation claims. The decision makes clear that that a pending U visa petition does not diminish the chilling effect of such discovery, and continues to rely on Rivera v. NIBCO as the guiding law on this issue in the Ninth Circuit. A great outcome in our case, and one that we hope can be used elsewhere to argue this issue.

State of Washington and Diaz Silvas et al. v. Horning Brothers, NO. 2:17-CV-0149-TOR, 2018 WL 2208215 (E.D. Wash. May 14, 2018)

A New Understanding of Substantial Abuse

Evaluation harm in U visa petitions for immigrant victims of workplace crimes (Authors: Eunice H. Cho, Giselle Hass, and Leticia Salcedo)

DHS Protections for Immigrant Victims

Blue campaign pamphlet on protection for immigrant victims

DHS Protections for Immigrant Victims - Spanish

Blue campaign pamphlet on protection for immigrant victims (Spanish version)

Letter to USCIS on Substantial Abuse Determination for Workplace U visas (April 2013)

This letter is the result of collaboration between NELP, Dr. Giselle Hass, and ASISTA, to develop a framework for USCIS and advocates to identify factors of substantial abuse in workplace cases. The framework builds on theories of abuse suffered by immigrant survivors in cases of domestic and sexual abuse, which form the bulk of cases currently granted U visas. (April 2013)

Webinars and Training Materials

ASISTA Stop Workplace Sexual Violence! Assisting Immigrant Survivors of Workplace Sexual Violence: A guide for advocates, organizers, and leaders to advance immigrant women's gender equality rights in the workplace (2016)

Link to Webinars: ASISTA Pilot Local Project in the State of Nebraska (August - October 2017)

Webinar series from ASISTA pilot project in collaboration with the Nebraska Coalition To End Sexual and Domestic Violence, and Heartland Workers Center, bringing together labor and anti-violence advocates to create on-going collaborations to eradicate sexual violence against immigrant women in the workplace (August - October 2017)

This product was supported by a grant from Raliance, a collaborative initiative to end sexual violence in one generation, made possible through a commitment from the National Football League (NFL). Its contents are solely responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NFL.

Webinar I: Forging Futures Without Violence: Challenging Sexual Violence in the Workplace (August 28, 2017)

Webinar I presented by Carly Beusch, Nebraska Coalition To End Sexual and Domestic Violence; Jennifer Cooley, University of Northern Iowa; Giselle Hass, psychologist; Abbie Kretz, Heartland Workers Center; and Sonia Parras, ASISTA (August 28, 2017).

Webinar I: Forging Futures Without Violence: Challenging Sexual Violence in the Workplace (August 28, 2017)

Webinar I presentation in Powerpoint version. Copyright@2017 by ASISTA Immigration Assistance. All rights reserved. This product or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used without express written permission from ASISTA Immigration Assistance.

Webinar II: Responding to the Needs of Survivors of Sexual Violence in the Workplace, Safety and Collaboration (September 25, 2017)

Webinar II presented by Carly Beusch, Nebraska Coalition To End Sexual and Domestic Violence; Jennifer Cooley, University of Northern Iowa; Giselle Hass, psychologist; Abbie Kretz, Heartland Workers Center; and Sonia Parras, ASISTA (September 25, 2017).

Webinar II: Responding to the Needs of Survivors of Sexual Violence in the Workplace, Safety and Collaboration (September 25, 2017)

Webinar II presentation in Powerpoint version. Copyright@2017 by ASISTA Immigration Assistance. All rights reserved. This product or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used without express written permission from ASISTA Immigration Assistance.

Webinar III: Expanding your Bags of Tricks: Legal Protections for Survivors of Sexual Violence in the Workplace and Through Collaboration (October 30, 2017)

Webinar III presented by Carly Beusch, Nebraska Coalition To End Sexual and Domestic Violence; Jennifer Cooley, University of Northern Iowa; Giselle Hass, psychologist; Abbie Kretz, Heartland Workers Center; and Sonia Parras, ASISTA (October 30, 2017)

Webinar III: Expanding your Bags of Tricks: Legal Protections for Survivors of Sexual Violence in the Workplace and Through Collaboration (October 30, 2017)

Webinar III presentation in Powerpoint version. Copyright@2017 by ASISTA Immigration Assistance. All rights reserved. This product or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used without express written permission from ASISTA Immigration Assistance.

Link to Webinars: ASISTA National Project in Cooperation with Service Employees International Union (SEIU) (January - March 2018)

Webinar series from ASISTA in cooperation with (SEIU) in a groundbreaking project to fight sexual violence against immigrants in the workplace (January - March 2018)

Webinar I: Challenging Sexual Violence in the Workplace (January 22, 2018)

Webinar I presented by Lauren Bonds, ACLU, Kansas; Giselle Hass, psychologist; Sonia Parras, ASISTA; and Debbie Smith, SEIU (January 22, 2018)

Webinar I: Challenging Sexual Violence in the Workplace (January 22, 2018)

Webinar I presentation in Powerpoint version. Copyright@2018 by ASISTA Immigration Assistance. All rights reserved. This product or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used without express written permission from ASISTA Immigration Assistance.

Webinar II: Working with Immigrant Survivors of Sexual Violence in the Workplace: Holistic Responses (February 22, 2018)

Webinar II presented by Lauren Bonds, ACLU, Kansas; Jennifer Cooley, University of Northern Iowa; Giselle Hass, Psychologist, D.C; Sonia Parras, ASISTA; and Debbie Smith, SEIU (February 22, 2018)

Webinar II: Working with Immigrant Survivors of Sexual Violence in the Workplace: Holistic Responses (February 22, 2018)

Webinar II presentation in Powerpoint version. Copyright@2108 by ASISTA Immigration Assistance. All rights reserved. This product or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used without express written permission from ASISTA Immigration Assistance.

Webinar: Representing Non-citizen Crime Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence (Emphasis on Workplace Violence - April 2016)

Training presentation by Sonia Parras, ASISTA, on "Identifying domestic violence in your immigration cases", Kansas, April, 2016

Creative Strategies for Outreaching and Working Effectively with Immigrant Survivors of Sexual Violence in the Workplace (June 24, 2013)

In light of immigration enforcement and the economic climate, now more than ever, immigrant women are vulnerable to experiencing sexual violence in the workplace. Across the country, immigrant-working women with and without work authorization are subjected to adverse working conditions and victimization at alarming rates.

ASISTA, in collaboration with Maya Raghu from Futures Without Violence; Dr. Gisselle Hass, Licensed Clinical Psychologist; and William Tamayo, Regional Attorney for the San Francisco Office of the Equal Employment Commission (EEOC), presented this webinar providing information and strategies for advocates to use in their work to combat sexual violence in the workplace and assist survivors.

This project was supported by Grant No. 2009-TA-AX-K009 awarded by the United States Department of Justice, Office of Violence Against Women. The opinions, fundings, and recommendation expressed in this document are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Department of Justice, Office of Violence Against Women.

Case Law

5th Circuit - Koch vs. EEOC (September 27, 2016)

5th Circuit rules U discovery disfavored in civil context (September 27, 2016)