Pesticide Action & Agroecology Network (PAN) stands in solidarity with Dolores Huerta, Ana Murguia, Debra Roja and all victims of sexual violence. These women and others yet unnamed recently came forward to share the horrific stories of the abuse they survived at the hands of Cesar Chavez, a key leader of the Latino civil rights movement and championed labor rights for migrant farmworkers.

Lifelong farmworker rights activist Dolores Huerta said it perfectly in her statement, “The farmworker movement has always been bigger and far more important than any one individual. Cesar’s actions do not diminish the permanent improvements achieved for farmworkers with the help of thousands of people. We must continue to engage and support our community, which needs advocacy and activism now more than ever.”

Having worked closely with farmworkers in California and throughout the U.S. in our work to improve protections for workers and rural communities exposed to hazardous pesticides, PAN stands firmly in solidarity with Ms. Huerta and all survivors of sexual abuse.

The movement for farmworker rights is vast, full of incredible people doing incredible work. Today and every day PAN supports safety, justice, and resiliency in food and farming—these values always include farmworkers, activists, and all our core constituencies. If you are a survivor of sexual abuse, we encourage you to connect with the Dolores Huerta Foundation for resources and support. You are not alone.

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Pesticide Action & Agroecology Network’s mission is to end reliance on hazardous pesticides and achieve health, resilience and justice in food and farming. PAN uses grassroots science, strategic communications and coalition organizing to build power with communities across the U.S. and around the world to confront the harms of industrial agriculture and build solutions, and is one of five regional centers who cooperate to transform systems of food and farming across the globe.