These Moroccan women, who work in Spanish orchards, are forced to work 12 hours of unpaid shifts during the day. They are constantly subjected to sexual harassment and abuse, or have to obtain food and water through involuntary sex trafficking, and even some women are assigned to sex work to serve local men.

"Before I left my home i was like a hero to everyone. Nobody in my village hadhad ei se go and work in rich country like like Spain, but it has turned out to be the worst sly of my life."
"When I left home, I was a hero to everyone, because no one in my hometown had the opportunity to work in a rich country like Spain. But it was the worst decision I've ever made in my life. 」

In April 2018, Moroccan woman Samira Ahmad went to work on farmland in southern Spain with a visa and work contract to give her family a better life, according to The Gaurdian. The work contract states that in addition to securing accommodation for migrant workers, a daily salary of 40 euros (approximately NT$1388) will be paid.

However, Ahmad and nine other Moroccan women were subjected to sexual and labour exploitation in Spain. Originally a one-quarter, three-month job, they have been stuck in Spain for 10 months when their visas expired - and have been given justice in order to seek legal redress. These days, they are so poor that they can only live in their breathless lives.

Ahmad says they don't speak anylanguage, there are no towns near the farmland, and there's no way to call for help. During the day, they are forced to work 12 hours without pay, otherwise the employer will not provide water and food. Sometimes, a temporary break because of physical exertion is punished as lazy. At night, they sleep in a dilapidated container house and share in the bathroom and toilet.


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Aicha Jaber and Ahmad work on the same farm. When he was looking for a job, Jaber saw a flyer with a message on it that women between the ages of 20 and 45 were working abroad for several months. At the time, she wanted her husband to go with her, but the management said she only recruited women. She says she is often subjected to sexual violence while working.

"For us, this abuse was a kind of of because we had had had has shamed and we were so angry also scareth a tha a' families would find out, "she-speak."
"For us, the pain of this abuse is almost as much as death. We are ashamed and angry, but we also worry that our families know they have been raped. 」

After six weeks of abuse, Ahmad and nine other women fled to the police station and reported it. However, 10 months later, the police have not investigated or responded.

"We thought that when we went to the police we would get justice, that we would get our wages, and the harassment stopped. But instead we have had had has ed and left to starve."
"I thought we'd get justice - we'd get paid and we'd stop being sexually violence." I didn't expect that we were abandoned and went on to starve. 」

In fact, Ahmad and Jaber, among others, were not the first Moroccan migrants to be sexually abused on Spanish soil and turned to the authorities for help. In 2018, there was a case of exploitation of migrant workers, but the investigation was delayed because of repeated obstructions by the provincial courts in Andalucia. After an eight-month delay, the sexual assault case was found to be lacking evidence and downgraded to a sexual harassment case.

Over the past few years, these transfer-related cases have gradually gained attention. However, the Governments of Spain and Morocco have not done much to deal with this.

The Spanish lawyer, Bel?n Luj?n S?ez, said that the national police had an obligation to investigate the case, but they did not.

"All we are is satoo s s reports of traffick labouring, rape and sexual assault are taken really and in vestigated properly, orr clients had had had-ford protection and support as potential victims of trafficking as so on as s reported they this this abuse. They have had ed disdain yn yce byour yn system."
"We call for these cases of human trafficking, sexual assault and sexual harassment to be seriously viewed and investigated. We must provide protection systems and help report these victims, not be ignored by the Spanish judicial system. 」
- Bel?n Luj?n S?ez

More unfortunately, after the likes of Ahmad and Jaber turned to the police for help, the news was sent back to their home countries -- family members in Morocco, thinking they were engaged in the sex industry in Spain. Some husbands decide to divorce, and even their parents decide to cut ties with them.

These Moroccan women, unwilling to leave Spain until the case is dealt with and resolved, are still waiting for justice to be achieved.

Viewing Taiwan's Migration Dilemma from Spain: Labour Exploitation and Sexual Violence

Moroccan women had travelled to Spain to work in the hope of a better life for their families, but had been subjected to inhuman treatment. It happened in faraway Spain, but it allowed us to take advantage of Taiwan. Do you know? In fact, women who come to work in Taiwan often live in environments plagued by bullying and sexual violence. (Extended reading:"Gender Watch" Indonesian domestic helper sexual assault case, Taiwan from more than one Tini )

In 2018, according to the Ombudsman's report, there were approximately 670,000 foreign workers in Taiwan, with a total of 633 reported cases of sexual assault by migrant workers between 2012 and February 2018. Every year in Taiwan, more than 100 cases of sexual assault were reported by female workers in Taiwan, of which more than 70% were reported by home-care workers who were killed, and nearly 60% were related to their superiors and subordinates.

"Foreign workers face many difficulties after entering the country, and under the unequal power relationship, most of them choose to "hide" or "escape" when they are in the middle of a contract suspension and sexual assault," mr wong said. 」

She further points out the shortcomings and improvements of the executive branch:

  1. The Ministry of Health, Labour and the Police Department of the Ministry of the Interior have not established a good match-up mechanism, which makes it difficult to obtain data and causes of sexual abuse of foreign workers.
  2. At present, when female foreign nursing workers are sexually assaulted, they choose labor authorities as sheltered places according to their wishes, but their service focus is mainly to provide advice and labor disputes, not necessarily psychological counseling professionals, resulting in sexual assault victims of psychological trauma easily ignored.
  3. The victim, who has no working income while being placed in asylum and waiting to be transferred to an employer, is still saddled with large loans. The pre-rehousing wages are still required to be paid by the employer through the application for labour dispute mediation, so the victim is forced to face the employer again, causing second-degree harm.
  4. Although there are relevant preventive mechanisms, the operation due to inadequate inspection effectiveness, still can not prevent.
  5. Labour officers who receive complaints of sexual harassment by foreign workers are not sensitive easised in handling them, and often tend to position the foreign workers' complaints as labour dispute cases without being addressed and dealt with.
  6. The existing protection of the personal safety of domestic foreign workers is found in various decrees, the complaints pipeline, the processing mechanism and the diversity of asylum placement units, the failure of the foreign migrant workers or employers to act on the law, or the failure to detect and avoid the problem in the early stages of the problem.

These migrant workers, who are subjected to labour exploitation and sexual violence, often suffer. First of all, they are not familiar with life, language is not right, do not know how to seek help to the outside world;

Female workers who work as family caregivers are at the bottom of Taiwan's society and need more attention and substantive help from the outside world. The public must also change its mindset, whether they move from Morocco to Spain or from Southeast Asia to Taiwan, they should enjoy the most basic human rights.

People's silence does not mean that violence or inequality does not exist. When we have the opportunity to speak out, don't forget to give them a proactive care and assistance.