ANNIE FEHRENBACHER...—Annie Fehrenbacher Doctoral Student Strives to Become a Voice for Migrant...
1
29 “Issues of social and economic status, violence, and whether you have a choice in your occupation or where you live all have an impact on health outcomes. As public health professionals we can’t ignore the factors that make people vulnerable to being exploited.” — Annie Fehrenbacher Doctoral Student Strives to Become a Voice for Migrant Workers and Other Exploited Groups WHILE IN HIGH SCHOOL, ANNIE FEHRENBACHER worked at Planned Parenthood as a peer educator. “It was my reaction to the information we were getting at school during a big push for abstinence-only education,” she says. “I felt we weren’t being informed about our own health.” Through that experience and volunteer work at rape crisis centers, Fehrenbacher learned how common sexual abuse was among teens. “The girls I was going to high school with knew I had information about health resources so they were disclosing things to me, and I began to real- ize that these abusive relationships were a huge problem that was almost accepted as the norm,” she says. It marked Fehrenbacher’s introduction to public health – and the beginning of her determination to make a difference in the health of exploited populations. The doctoral student’s current focus is on migrant workers, both in the United States and overseas. As an undergraduate at Johns Hopkins University she worked at a city jail in Baltimore, and was drawn to the issue of human trafficking. “It was fascinating to me how legal and social status affected migrants’ health outcomes,” she says. As Fehrenbacher began to delve further into the issue – looking at health-related responses to human trafficking both domestically and internationally – she learned of the ethical and methodological challenges to studying this hidden population. Estimates on the number of victims of trafficking vary widely, partly because it is so broadly defined. One of the reasons the UCLA School of Public Health was so attractive to Fehrenbacher for her graduate studies was its location in a region bustling with migrant-rights organizations, providing Fehrenbacher with valuable resources as she explores the problem. “In California it’s assumed that most migrants are voluntary, economic migrants,” she says. “I’m trying to blur the line between vol- untary and involuntary migration because I think the popular emphasis on sympa- thizing with ‘involuntary’ migrants clouds our vision to the injustices suffered by other migrants.” For her M.P.H. field studies last summer, Fehrenbacher did an internship with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in which she participated in a project spearheaded by the CLEAN Carwash Campaign, an effort led by a coali- tion of advocacy groups to raise Los Angeles carwash workers’ standard of living, ensure basic workplace protections and address environmental and safety hazards. “Many of these workers are vulnerable because of their undocumented immigration status as well as language barriers,” Fehrenbacher notes. Through focus groups, she heard firsthand accounts of wage theft, unpaid overtime and health and safety violations. “We found that the workers had very little training or knowledge about the risks of some of the products they were using,” Fehrenbacher says. “Employers were required to provide information on the chem- ical hazards in their workplace, but the workers couldn’t read it because it only had to be given in English.” Through the campaign, educational materials were devel- oped and distributed. Human trafficking and worker exploitation have long been concerns of human rights organizations, but Fehrenbacher notes that in recent years they have received more attention from people in public health. “Issues of social and economic status, violence, and whether you have a choice in your occupation or where you live all have an impact on health outcomes,” she says. “As public health professionals we can’t ignore the factors that make people vulnerable to being exploited.” students UCLAPUBLIC HEALTH
Transcript of ANNIE FEHRENBACHER...—Annie Fehrenbacher Doctoral Student Strives to Become a Voice for Migrant...
-
29
“Issues of social and economic status, violence, and whether you have a choice in your occupation or where you live all have an impact on health outcomes. As public health professionals we can’t ignore the factors that make people vulnerable to being exploited.”— Annie Fehrenbacher
Doctoral Student Strives to Become a Voice for Migrant Workers and Other Exploited GroupsWHILE IN HIGH SCHOOL, ANNIE FEHRENBACHER worked at Planned Parenthoodas a peer educator. “It was my reaction to the information we were getting at schoolduring a big push for abstinence-only education,” she says. “I felt we weren’t beinginformed about our own health.” Through that experience and volunteer work at rapecrisis centers, Fehrenbacher learned how common sexual abuse was among teens.“The girls I was going to high school with knew I had information about healthresources so they were disclosing things to me, and I began to real-ize that these abusive relationships were a huge problem that wasalmost accepted as the norm,” she says.
It marked Fehrenbacher’s introduction to public health – andthe beginning of her determination to make a difference in the healthof exploited populations. The doctoral student’s current focus is onmigrant workers, both in the United States and overseas. As anundergraduate at Johns Hopkins University she worked at a city jailin Baltimore, and was drawn to the issue of human trafficking. “Itwas fascinating to me how legal and social status affected migrants’health outcomes,” she says.
As Fehrenbacher began to delve further into the issue – lookingat health-related responses to human trafficking both domesticallyand internationally – she learned of the ethical and methodologicalchallenges to studying this hidden population. Estimates on thenumber of victims of trafficking vary widely, partly because it is sobroadly defined. One of the reasons the UCLA School of PublicHealth was so attractive to Fehrenbacher for her graduate studieswas its location in a region bustling with migrant-rights organizations,providing Fehrenbacher with valuable resources as she exploresthe problem. “In California it’s assumed that most migrants are voluntary, economic migrants,” she says. “I’m trying to blur the line between vol-untary and involuntary migration because I think the popular emphasis on sympa-thizing with ‘involuntary’ migrants clouds our vision to the injustices suffered by othermigrants.”
For her M.P.H. field studies last summer, Fehrenbacher did an internship withthe National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in which she participatedin a project spearheaded by the CLEAN Carwash Campaign, an effort led by a coali-tion of advocacy groups to raise Los Angeles carwash workers’ standard of living,ensure basic workplace protections and address environmental and safety hazards.“Many of these workers are vulnerable because of their undocumented immigrationstatus as well as language barriers,” Fehrenbacher notes.
Through focus groups, she heard firsthand accounts of wage theft, unpaidovertime and health and safety violations. “We found that the workers had very littletraining or knowledge about the risks of some of the products they were using,”Fehrenbacher says. “Employers were required to provide information on the chem-ical hazards in their workplace, but the workers couldn’t read it because it only hadto be given in English.” Through the campaign, educational materials were devel-oped and distributed.
Human trafficking and worker exploitation have long been concerns of humanrights organizations, but Fehrenbacher notes that in recent years they have receivedmore attention from people in public health. “Issues of social and economic status,violence, and whether you have a choice in your occupation or where you live allhave an impact on health outcomes,” she says. “As public health professionals wecan’t ignore the factors that make people vulnerable to being exploited.”
studentsUCLA
PU
BLIC
HE
ALT
H
sphmag.june11.16-37_SPHmag.June04.20-37 6/6/11 2:27 PM Page 14
