A labour rights group has uncovered widespread sexual abuse against female garment workers by managerial staff in Levi’s, Wrangler, and The Children’s Place factories in Lesotho.
The Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) reported on the violations after discovering that factory managers coerced women to have sex with them, threatening that the workers would lose their jobs if they objected.
The women also experienced other forms of sexual harassment and gender-based violence on a regular basis.
The abuse took place across three factories making jeans for the US brands, owned by Taiwan-based international jeans manufacturer, Nien Hsing Textile.
“All of the women in my department have slept with the supervisor. For the women, this is about survival and nothing else,” WRC quoted one female worker as saying. “If you say no, you won’t get the job, or your contract will not be renewed.”
Local economy based on exporting jeans
The report detailed abuses at factories in Lesotho, a mountainous landlocked country entirely enclosed by South Africa. While most of the female garment workers there are Lesothan, some managers at the factories also come from abroad. The witnesses said both local and foreign managers committed sexual abuse.
The Global Fund for Women reports that 80% of garment makers around the globe are women.
In Lesotho, garment manufacturing, with a focus on denim for export, has been the largest formal sector employer in the last thirty years.
WRC began to investigate the factories after several sources informed the body that the workers who sew, wash, sand, and add rivets to the blue jeans and other clothing were being abused by factory staff.
Bosses, co-workers both among abusers
In dozens of interviews, the women described to the rights group the epidemic of abuse and harassment, from inappropriate touching, sexual demands, offensive sexual comments, to taking them home for sex.
The workers said that if they objected to the harassment, they faced discrimination and further abuse. According to the rights group, the factory managers also fought against union organising.
Female workers also told investigators that in addition to the abuse from supervisors, their male colleagues were molesting them as well.
“Male workers like touching females in a way that is not appropriate,” one woman said.
Manufacturers: We want women to feel ’empowered’
The world-famous clothing brands have responded to the revelations.