“Please pay attention to our lives.”

@MargieMasonAP and @robinmcdowell spoke to dozens of women on palm oil plantations who describe rapes, harassment and punishing physical effects of their brutal work, which feeds into top beauty brands.

READ: http://apne.ws/yxrIMPu 

Women on plantations often face sexual abuse, ranging from verbal harassment and threats to rape, and victims rarely speak out.

When they do, companies often don’t take action or police charges are either dropped or not filed. 2/7 http://apne.ws/0SWr6cq 

Rape accusations are typically settled through “peace solutions” in which the victim’s family may be paid off.

Sometimes, the victims’ parents force them to marry their rapists to lessen the shame, often after pregnancy occurs. 3/7

TAKEAWAYS: http://apne.ws/AvKebKQ 

The @AP used U.S. Customs records, product ingredient lists and the latest published data from producers, traders and buyers to link the laborers’ palm oil and its derivatives from the mills that process it to the supply chains of many big Western brands. 4/7

Female workers routinely carry out some of the industry’s most punishing jobs, lugging loads so heavy that their uteruses collapse and spraying dangerous pesticides wearing no protective gear. Most don’t have access to health care or can’t afford it. 5/7

Women interviewed by the @AP detailed a series of health issues, ranging from dizzy spells, nosebleeds, difficulty breathing and blurry vision, with activists saying some workers totally lost their sight. 6/7

READ MORE: http://apne.ws/lNAyE4M 

Read more from the @AP’s Fruits of Labor investigation of the palm industry. 7/7

FULL COVERAGE: http://apne.ws/61GVfkT