Sexual Harassement and the Intersection of Race, Class and Gender Oppression. A Study among Domestic Workers in Brazil

Abstract

Abstract: In this paper I present findings of a research carried out in Brazil with and among domestic workers and union activists concerning the problem of sexual harassment against domestic workers by the male employers. Analysis particularly focuses on the imbrication of racism, sexism and class inequalities as a key element to understand this sexual harassment, its negation by white middle-class employers and culture, as well women’s responses to it. I argue that union activists, by knowing and experiencing the same life material conditions, recognize how domestic workers react to them and know how to support them.

Keywords: Brazil, sexual harassments, domestic work, imbrication of racism, sexism and class inequalities.