[Wamvan] Sexual Harassment of Hotel Maids

Wed May 25 07:19:50 PDT 2011

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <GSN at yahoogroups.com>
Date: Wed, May 25, 2011 at 4:57 AM
Subject: [GSN] Digest Number 4793
To: GSN at yahoogroups.com

 Global Sisterhood Network - Feminists from around the world working
together to improve women's lives
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GSN;_ylc=X3oDMTJiZG5sZmRhBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzEyNTQzBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTAxNTQ5MwRzZWMDaGRyBHNsawNocGgEc3RpbWUDMTMwNjMxMzgzMw-->
 Messages In This Digest (1 Message)
 1. Re: Hotel Maids Say (MALE) Sexual Harassment Is Part of the
Job<https://mail.google.com/mail/html/compose/static_files/blank_quirks.html#130265f435df78c4_1>From:
jennifer drew
View All Topics<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GSN/messages;_ylc=X3oDMTJkMzMwcnI4BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzEyNTQzBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTAxNTQ5MwRzZWMDZG1zZwRzbGsDYXRwYwRzdGltZQMxMzA2MzEzODMz?xm=1&m=p&tidx=1>|
Create
New Topic<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GSN/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJkMm9vNWV0BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzEyNTQzBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTAxNTQ5MwRzZWMDZG1zZwRzbGsDbnRwYwRzdGltZQMxMzA2MzEzODMz>
Message
 1.  Re: Hotel Maids Say (MALE) Sexual Harassment Is Part of the Job
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GSN/message/40270;_ylc=X3oDMTJwamRwNXE0BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzEyNTQzBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTAxNTQ5MwRtc2dJZAM0MDI3MARzZWMDZG1zZwRzbGsDdm1zZwRzdGltZQMxMzA2MzEzODMz>
Posted
by: "jennifer drew" jenniferdrew at fastmail.fm
<jenniferdrew at fastmail.fm?Subject=+Re%3A%20Hotel%20Maids%20Say%20%28MALE%29%20Sexual%20Harassment%20Is%20Part%20of%20the%20Job>
jenniferdrew175 <http://profiles.yahoo.com/jenniferdrew175> Tue May 24, 2011
9:18 am (PDT)

Innumerable highly paid businessmen view it as their right, when staying
in expensive hotels, to subject female hotel workers to male sexual
harassment; physical assault and/or attempting to sexually coerce these
women into 'sexually servicing them.'

Because hotel work and particularly the kind of work termed 'hotel maid'
is considered to be of low value by male supremacy as well as the
obvious power imbalance between prominent powerful businessmen and the
supposedly lowly female hotel worker, this provides men with ample
opportunities of subjecting these women to sexual violence.

Many of the female hotel workers are migrant workers and they know that
if the employer receives unfavourable criticism concerning their work
they will be swiftly dismissed and replaced by another female worker.
So it is not surprising many female workers accept male sexual
harassment and male sexual violence as 'part of the job.' Blame must be
placed on those males who abuse their positions of power as well as
certain hotel chains who are more worried about 'upsetting wealthy male
customers' than maintaining a safe and secure work environment for their
female employees.

Hospitality is a very profitable industry and does it matter that
innumerable female hotel workers are being subjected to male sexual
harassment/male sexual violence because pandering to high profile
business men is far more important than supposedly disposable 'migrant
women!' Migrant women are in a double bind in that some of them are
undocumented as well as being non-nationals which makes them easy
targets for male sexual violence. Secondly profit is commonly viewed as
outweighing any female worker's right not to be subjected to a hostile
environment, particularly one wherein she has to be constantly on the
alert for predatory males.

Hotel owners have a duty to ensure their female employees work in a safe
environment but as always enacting such measures is a far cry from
claiming such measures are in force.

Jennifer
~~~~~~~~
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=55744
Inter Press Service ~ May 23 2011
Hotel Maids Say Sexual Harassment Is Part of the Job
By Aline Cunico

NEW YORK, May 23, 2011 (IPS) - With the arrest of the once powerful head of
the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Kahn, following
allegations that he tried to rape a maid in his 3,000-dollar- a-night
penthouse suite at the Sofitel Hotel, a spotlight has been turned on the
treatment of female cleaning staff, many of whom are immigrants who keep
silent for fear of losing their jobs or being deported.

Interviews with hotel workers revealed numerous incidents of sexual
comments, proposals and harassment, with management frequently turning a
blind eye out of deference to their high-profile guests.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a former female employee at the luxury
Mercer Hotel in Soho told IPS, "It happens all the time. I think this case
was a bit extreme, but yes, it is not uncommon for hotel maids to be
harassed or even attacked. I would always hear disrespectful comments, or be
asked to join male guests in exchange for money when I worked at the hotel."

"Most guys who stay at these establishments are high-class businessmen. They
have the money and the power to do whatever they please and think they can
get away with anything," she said, adding that cleaning staff is reluctant
to complain because they are afraid that the hotels will not back them up
under the theory "the customer is always right".

"If the employee is unsatisfied with the treatment received, they are more
than welcome to find a new job," she said about the prevailing attitude.

But for many hotel maids, finding a new job is not an option. Some are
undocumented, while others are in the United States on a work visa that ties
them to a specific contract. Both situations make these workers vulnerable
to long hours, low wages and in some cases, physical or sexual abuse.

"The control that employers often exert over their foreign national
employees and the perception of 'ownership' that exists in such
relationships creates a sense of fear carried by foreign workers in the
United States of losing their employment or being removed," said Jeremy
Richards, an attorney specialising in immigration law.

Strauss-Kahn has since resigned from the IMF to fight the charges against
him stemming from the May 14 incident. The French national is under house
arrest in New York on a million-dollar bail plus five- million-dollar bond
ensuring his appearance in court.

Little is known about his accuser beyond media reports describing her as a
32-year-old West African immigrant and mother of a teenager, who had been
working at the Sofitel for the past three years.

Since she came forward with her account, two other female employees say
Strauss-Kahn made sexual advances to them during his stay.

"I believe the situation of most hotel maids is undoubtedly delicate not
only because most of them are immigrants, but also because they are at the
bottom of the hotel hierarchy," Janaina Santos, a front desk receptionist at
a luxury Manhattan hotel, told IPS. "Hospitality is one of the largest
industries in turnover and replacing the employee is not a difficult thing."

She said the incident could spark changes in hotel security policies, which
prior to the Strauss-Kahn incident were mainly focused on the safety of
guests.

"There was a concern about the employee's behaviour with the guests, but I
do not remember seeing anything, at least in my function, on how to react in
the case of being abused by a guest. That is interesting, considering this
is not a recent matter," Santos said.

In a statement released on May 16, Robert Gaymer-Jones, CEO of the Sofitel,
stated that the hotel management would be available to assist in the police
investigation of exactly what took place at the hotel. The statement
reinforced the hotel's priority to ensure the safety of its guests and
staff.

"To protect both guests and staff, Sofitel New York has implemented strict
procedures and a whistle-blower hotline to allow employees to report any
specific situations. These procedures have been in place for more than a
year," the statement said.

Jones also responded to accusations made by a member of the French
parliament that the New York Sofitel's management had covered up repeated
acts of sexual aggression in the past.

"Management is not aware of any previous cases of attempted sexual
aggression," he stated.

(END)

 Back to top
<https://mail.google.com/mail/html/compose/static_files/blank_quirks.html#130265f435df78c4_toc>
Reply to sender
<jenniferdrew at fastmail.fm?Subject=Re%3A%20Hotel%20Maids%20Say%20%28MALE%29%20Sexual%20Harassment%20Is%20Part%20of%20the%20Job>|
Reply to group
<GSN at yahoogroups.com?Subject=+Re%3A%20Hotel%20Maids%20Say%20%28MALE%29%20Sexual%20Harassment%20Is%20Part%20of%20the%20Job>|
Reply via web post
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GSN/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJwdmpyaHJtBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzEyNTQzBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTAxNTQ5MwRtc2dJZAM0MDI3MARzZWMDZG1zZwRzbGsDcnBseQRzdGltZQMxMzA2MzEzODMz?act=reply&messageNum=40270>
Messages in this topic
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GSN/message/40270;_ylc=X3oDMTM1NzBhZTJ2BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzEyNTQzBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTAxNTQ5MwRtc2dJZAM0MDI3MARzZWMDZG1zZwRzbGsDdnRwYwRzdGltZQMxMzA2MzEzODMzBHRwY0lkAzQwMjcw>(1)

  Recent Activity

Visit Your Group
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GSN;_ylc=X3oDMTJjdGV2cmZjBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzEyNTQzBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTAxNTQ5MwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzEzMDYzMTM4MzM->
  New web site?

Drive traffic now.<http://global.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=15lu5nv6i/M=493064.14543973.14365498.8674578/D=groups/S=1705015493:NC/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1306321034/L=fbee050a-86ac-11e0-9dfb-b7038eff501b/B=wb.kAdBDRqw-/J=1306313834108019/K=ug8EUcIPv64v000.MDgQHQ/A=3848642/R=0/SIG=131eshi2t/*http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/arp/srchv2.php?o=US2004&cmp=Yahoo&ctv=Groups3&s=Y&s2=&s3=&b=50>

Get your business

on Yahoo! search.
 Yahoo! Groups

Mental Health Zone<http://global.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=15lkeiimr/M=493064.14543965.14365489.8674578/D=groups/S=1705015493:NC/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1306321034/L=fbee050a-86ac-11e0-9dfb-b7038eff501b/B=w7.kAdBDRqw-/J=1306313834108019/K=ug8EUcIPv64v000.MDgQHQ/A=5741391/R=0/SIG=11m8njht2/*http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mentalhealthzone>

Mental Health

Learn More
 Sitebuilder

Build a web site<http://global.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=15l89kid7/M=493064.14543952.14365456.8674578/D=groups/S=1705015493:NC/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1306321034/L=fbee050a-86ac-11e0-9dfb-b7038eff501b/B=wr.kAdBDRqw-/J=1306313834108019/K=ug8EUcIPv64v000.MDgQHQ/A=4025304/R=0/SIG=12uhb64pb/*http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=44092/*http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/webhosting/sitebuilding.php>

quickly & easily

with Sitebuilder.
  Need to Reply?

Click one of the "Reply" links to respond to a specific message in the Daily
Digest.
Create New Topic
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GSN/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJjbmZtbWptBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzEyNTQzBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTAxNTQ5MwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNudHBjBHN0aW1lAzEzMDYzMTM4MzM->|
Visit Your Group on the
Web<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GSN;_ylc=X3oDMTJhZ3NqcmNvBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzEyNTQzBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTAxNTQ5MwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNocARzdGltZQMxMzA2MzEzODMz>
Messages<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GSN/messages;_ylc=X3oDMTJjZXY4cDR0BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzEyNTQzBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTAxNTQ5MwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNtc2dzBHN0aW1lAzEzMDYzMTM4MzM->|
Photos<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GSN/photos;_ylc=X3oDMTJjN3FtbTJtBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzEyNTQzBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTAxNTQ5MwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNwaG90BHN0aW1lAzEzMDYzMTM4MzM->|
Calendar<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GSN/calendar;_ylc=X3oDMTJiMW9yZHA1BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzEyNTQzBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTAxNTQ5MwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNjYWwEc3RpbWUDMTMwNjMxMzgzMw-->
http://www.global-sisterhood-network.org/
 MARKETPLACE

Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get
the Yahoo! Toolbar
now.<http://global.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=15ouh78bg/M=493064.14543979.14365478.13298430/D=groups/S=1705015493:MKP1/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1306321034/L=fbee050a-86ac-11e0-9dfb-b7038eff501b/B=vr.kAdBDRqw-/J=1306313834108019/K=ug8EUcIPv64v000.MDgQHQ/A=6060255/R=0/SIG=1194m4keh/*http://us.toolbar.yahoo.com/?.cpdl=grpj>
 ------------------------------

Find useful articles and helpful tips on living with Fibromyalgia. Visit the
Fibromyalgia Zone
today!<http://global.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=15ok6bbgt/M=493064.14543977.14365476.10835568/D=groups/S=1705015493:MKP1/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1306321034/L=fbee050a-86ac-11e0-9dfb-b7038eff501b/B=v7.kAdBDRqw-/J=1306313834108019/K=ug8EUcIPv64v000.MDgQHQ/A=6260316/R=0/SIG=11bc8n8gt/*http://custom.yahoo.com/fibromyalgiazone/>
 [image: Yahoo!
Groups]<http://groups.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTJiNW04dGJpBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzEyNTQzBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTAxNTQ5MwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNnZnAEc3RpbWUDMTMwNjMxMzgzMw-->
Change settings via the
Web<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GSN/join;_ylc=X3oDMTJkZ2toa3RiBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzEyNTQzBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTAxNTQ5MwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNzdG5ncwRzdGltZQMxMzA2MzEzODMz>(Yahoo!
ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to
Individual<GSN-normal at yahoogroups.com?subject=Email+Delivery:+Indiviual+Email>|
Switch
format to Traditional<GSN-traditional at yahoogroups.com?subject=Change+Delivery+Format:+Traditional>
Visit Your Group
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GSN;_ylc=X3oDMTJiZzhwbzU2BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzEyNTQzBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTAxNTQ5MwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNocGYEc3RpbWUDMTMwNjMxMzgzMw-->|
Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/>| Unsubscribe
<GSN-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscribe>

-- 
Frieda Werden, Series Producer
WINGS: Women's International News Gathering Service www.wings.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.resist.ca/pipermail/wamvan/attachments/20110525/e8c00171/attachment.html>