Sexual violence and in particular sexual harassment is an unfortunate reality in the lives of millions of Mexican women. We encounter this problem in all areas of our life: on the streets, within our families, and at work. Interestingly, some women's experiences of sexual harassment are less visible than others. This is the case of women in the occupation of paid household work. In Mexico, the fact that women household workers are sexually harassed or raped by their male employers has been silenced and at best kept as an open secret. In addition, researchers who have studied the lives of household workers barely mention it. Consequently, this master's thesis answers the following research questions: (1) Are women domestic workers vulnerable to sexual harassment? Why? and, (2) What are the social and cultural factors responsible for such vulnerabilities? I engage with these research questions by exploring the life histories of 11 women from Monterrey, Nuevo León and who have at least 5 years of working experience in the occupation, through in-depth interviews. Based on what the women shared with me I offer a collection of individual life stories followed by a feminist informed analysis of their experiences. Each story is unique and presents their views and perceptions of sexual harassment in the occupation and elsewhere. The analysis is divided in five mayor themes, which emerged in all of the interviews and explain the problematic. Although they enter the occupation knowing there are potential risks, one of which is sexual harassment, they are unable to change occupations due to limited work options. I argue that their social positionalities stemming from their gender, race, and class puts these women in a vulnerable position vis-a-vis their employers. As working class women, some from indigenous backgrounds, their employers engage in different types of discrimination, all of which construct women household workers as the other and their bodies as rapeable. At last, women blame themselves and others who have been targets of sexual harassment while freeing men from any type of accountability. / text

On April 16, 2012, the much awaited primetime telenovela appropriately titled Cheias de Charme premiered on Rede Globo, the largest Brazilian television network, and viewers across the nation were introduced to as três Marias, the three charming protagonists who, in a rare occurrence on the network, are domestic workers. It is no surprise that domestic workers should be of interest to Brazilian television viewers; paid domestic work is an enormous part of daily life in Brazil and domestic workers make up nearly eight percent of the work force. This project builds on previous explorations of the unique relationships between domestic employers and employees in Brazil, as well as examinations of the traditional ways in which domestic workers have been imagined to draw a clearer image of the changing role of paid domestic work in Brazilian society. Part ethnographic study and part media analysis, this study is mainly preoccupied with exploring various representations of domestic workers. These representations speak to the tensions and contradictions surrounding the social dynamics of the intimate relationships between domestic workers and their employers, as well as the role of domestic work in Brazilian society, haunted by the legacy of nearly four-hundred years of slavery. / text

published_or_final_version / Social Service Management / Master / Master of Social Sciences

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Background: Contamination of the skin and clothing may lead to workers inadvertently bringing harmful materials home and exposing family members, so called para-occupational exposure. This study investigates whether workplace contamination with respiratory sensitisers such as laboratory animal allergens, flour, isocyanates and enzymes is transported from work to the home environment. Methods: 3 laboratory animal facilities, 92 bakeries, 47 car body workshops, and 2 hospitals in the Grampian region of Scotland were invited to take part in a series of linked studies to increase understanding of the ‘take-home' pathway. Control subjects were recruited from staff and students at the University of Aberdeen. Take-home exposure assessment was carried out using two techniques: surface wipe sampling and vacuum sampling in workplaces, cars and homes. Samples were also collected in the homes of control subjects. Samples from bakers were analysed for total protein, wheat flour antigen (WFA) and fungal alpha amylase (FAA) while samples from laboratory animal workers were analysed for mouse urinary protein (Mus m 1). Enzyme cleaning agents were analysed for subtilisin proteolytic activity. Similar methods using SWYPE™ aliphatic pads for isocyanate contamination assessment were conducted among car body repairers. The pads were scanned and images of SWYPE™ pads were used to estimate contamination against the quantitative assay MDHS 25/3. All analyses were done by the Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) apart from the SWYPE™ RGB tests and gravimetric measurements. Results: A total of 13 laboratory animal workers in 3 animal facilities, 38 bakers in 5 bakeries, 13 car painters in 5 car body workshops and 20 control subjects participated in the study. Two hospitals were surveyed for enzyme exposures and 3 endoscope cleaning technicians were monitored. Evidence of take-home exposure was found for bakery workers, with potential contamination that could lead to home exposure in the car body repair and hospital workers. Higher levels of Mus m 1 contamination were detected on house door handles of non-exposed controls compared to the exposed laboratory workers (0.62 vs. 0.1 ng/wipe, p<0.001) probably due to exposure variability, might be because exposed laboratory workers being involved in a job that requires more hand washing than the general population, or suggesting widespread environmental contamination with this allergen, and these making it impossible to determine if work-home pathway exists for these workers. There was detectable WFA and FAA found on the hands, forehead, shoes, cars and homes of bakers. Compared to controls, bakers had higher median levels of WFA and FAA in house vacuum samples; the difference was statistically significant for WFA/total protein (516x10-6 vs. 164x10-6, p=0.031), FAA/total protein ratios (1.45x10-6 vs. 0.04x10-6, p<0.001) and FAA loading (1.2 pg/cm2 vs. 0.1 pg/cm2, p<0.001). Among car painters, SWYPE™ colorimetric colour changes score showed three positive SWYPE™ colour changes on skin, and three positive results on shoes of car body workshop workers. However quantitative colour analysis of the SWYPE™ pads proved ineffective for field measurements. Hand wipes of hospital workers during mid-shift and post-shift showed evidence of proteolytic activity, indicating possible spread of contamination from hands, unsatisfactory hygiene practices and the potential for take-home contamination of enzyme. Presence of contamination on footwear indicated that possible transfer of enzyme to other places including homes may occur. Conclusion: These data demonstrate the existence of pathways for take-home exposure of allergens among bakers via skin and clothing from workplaces to cars and workers' homes. The take-home pathway for laboratory animal allergens and isocyanates was not demonstrated and further investigation should be performed for enzyme cleaning agents used in healthcare settings by monitoring dermal take-home exposure with comparison to controls. Further work is needed to ascertain how widespread the take-home of respiratory sensitisers may be and the possible implications to the health of workers' families and the wider community. If parental occupation can lead to take-home exposure to respiratory asthmagens, and consequently to childhood asthma, then this represents a potentially modifiable risk factor for these cases of para-occupational asthma. There is a need for greater understanding of the take-home pathway of exposure to asthmagens and sensitisers and for a programme of education and control measures to limit the transfer of such material from the workplace to the home and wider community.

This study aims to provide a deeper understanding of how social workers relate to societal notions of gender, class, ethnicity and sexuality in meetings with clients. As the basis of the study, qualitative interviews were conducted with four social workers. The results were analyzed by means of an intersectional perspective. The respondents described that societal power structures were present in social work and affected the clients. Male clients with Western origins were experienced in most situations less vulnerable, depending on other present power relations. Clients with non-European origin were perceived as more vulnerable, while LGBTQI-identified clients largely were invisible. All the social workers emphasized the importance of questioning their own beliefs and prejudices at work, in order to provide good treatment towards the clients. Social workers felt that the power structures of gender, class, ethnicity and sexuality may affect their treatment towards the clients, in one way or another. / Denna studies syfte är att ge en djupare förståelse för hur socialarbetare förhåller sig till samhälleliga föreställningar om kön, klass, etnicitet och sexualitet i mötet med klienter. I studien genomfördes fyra kvalitativa intervjuer med socialarbetare, verksamma inom socialt arbete. Studiens resultat analyserades med hjälp av ett intersektionellt perspektiv. Resultatet visade att socialarbetarna ansåg att samhälleliga maktstrukturer var närvarande i det sociala arbetet och påverkade de klienter som sökte sig dit. Manliga klienter med västerländskt ursprung upplevdes i de flesta situationer som mindre utsatta i socialt arbete, beroende på vilka andra maktordningar som samspelar. Klienter med utomeuropeiskt ursprung upplevdes som mer utsatta medan hbtq-personer upplevdes vara mer osynliga. Samtliga socialarbetare framhävde vikten av att ifrågasätta egna föreställningar och fördomar i arbetet, för att kunna ge ett gott bemötande gentemot klienterna. Socialarbetarna upplevde att maktstrukturer kring kön, klass, etnicitet och sexualitet kan påverka deras bemötande på ett eller annat sätt.