Change your land

Over the last years, particularly during the economic crisis, the number of foreigner male and female seasonal workers in the italian agricultural sector has increased significantly. This has translated into new forms of human mobility and settlements which bring about new needs.  For instance, in some areas characterised by intensive farming (usually closer to urban areas) gaps related to housing and access to social, health and welfare services have emerged.

Sectoral studies emphasize that women agricultural workers are more vulnerable than men. In 2018, CREA and ActionAid developed a study titled  “The invisible” to analyse the growing phenomenon of feminization of agriculture in Apulia region. The precarious nature of job contracts, the lack of women dedicated welfare services and fragile supporting newtorks and institutions make the conditions of these women less visible to authorities and organizations. In this context, gender-based violence appears to be a characteristic of a productive system that exploits foreign women rural workers and exposes them to different sorts of violence including physical, psychological and economic.