美国国家公共电台 NPR--How political rhetoric factors into violence against the LGBTQ community

How political rhetoric¹ factors into violence against the LGBTQ community

Transcript²

LGBTQ people experience four times more interpersonal violence than non-LGBTQ people, according to UCLA's Williams Institute. NPR's A Martinez talks to Elena Redfield of the institute.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Let's bring in Elana Redfield. She's the federal policy director at UCLA's Williams Institute, where she studies the effect of policies like the ones we just heard about on the LGBTQI community. Elana, thanks for being here.

ELANA REDFIELD: Glad to be here. Thank you.

MARTIN: Can you give us an understanding of the scale of violence that the LGBTQ community faces right now?

REDFIELD: Sure. So while there's still so much we don't know about what happened in Colorado - we're still learning - we know that LGBT people are far more likely to experience violence than non-LGBT people. Our research shows up to four times as likely to experience violent attacks as non-LGBT people.

MARTIN: Four times more likely. Have you looked into the reason? I mean, what part does political or other public rhetoric play?

REDFIELD: I think that's a really important question. Anti-LGBT sentiment is so pervasive³ in our society, and we know that while there are these horrible incidents of extreme violence, there are also everyday types of violence that LGBT people do experience, and that includes discrimination in the workplace and in schools. And it also includes the kind of policy conversations we're hearing from lawmakers, including the anti-transgender bills that have been happening in state legislatures and bills like the Don't Say Gay law in Florida. So that contributes to an environment where there's a lot of negativity around LGBT people.

MARTIN: How easy or difficult is it to collect accurate data about violence against this population or the threat of violence?

REDFIELD: It's a really good question there, because we don't have great data on LGBT people. Sexual orientation⁵ and gender⁴ identity are not collected on a lot of surveys. There are a few that do collect this information. But, you know, we're able to use sources like the National Crime Victim Survey, where people self-report how they identify and if they've experienced violence. But there are other sources that do not contain this information, and if they did, we would know a lot more. I'll also add that between different states, the way we look at bias-motivated crimes is different. So each state has their own statute⁶, their own laws, and that means that when we look at it from a national perspective, sometimes we see different levels of information from different places.

MARTIN: Can I ask you to drill down on that? Can you give me an example of how the definitions of a hate crime might vary from state to state?

REDFIELD: Well, I will say that, you know, there are around 37 states that protect against sexual orientation-based violence or hate crimes, and 28 protect around gender identity. So you see there's difference based on just the types of motivation that are included. And then some states don't have any protections there specifically to LGBT people. So that right there is one example of how they might vary.

MARTIN: Is there any evidence to suggest that hate crime laws actually deter⁷ crime and violence against LGBTQ people?

REDFIELD: That's also a really good question. And, you know, what we look at in our research is what the data show. And here we see, you know, that there still remain these disparities in both violence and in economics that in turn contributes to more likely to experience violence. And so we can look at that and see that those particular indicators⁸ are still high.

MARTIN: What are your prescriptions⁹? I mean, noting all these holes in how data about LGBTQ populations are collected and measured, how do you make it better?

REDFIELD: Well, I think, you know, one big piece is that we need to sort of solve the patchwork¹⁰ of protections that LGBT people have across the country. So really robust¹¹ nondiscrimination laws - you know, only around half of states have nondiscrimination laws. So in many contexts, LGBT people remain unprotected. And a great example of a federal law that might do that is the Equality Act, which has passed the House and may eventually pass the Senate, we hope. And then state-level nondiscrimination laws, but also in making sure that when we do collect data, we are collecting data on LGBT issues.

MARTIN: What are your reflections about the situation in Colorado right now, its aftermath and the laws on that in that state?

REDFIELD: I'll say, you know, it's just horrible to think about what happened in Colorado, what people are experiencing there. Colorado does have some of the stronger laws in the nation, and so, you know, in that case, you know, there's a good chance that they will be used to the most impact. And we hope that that is a model for other places.

MARTIN: Elana Redfield, federal policy director at UCLA's Williams Institute, thanks for your time.

REDFIELD: Thank you.

1 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

4 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

5 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

6 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

7 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

8 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

9 prescriptions   

药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划

参考例句：

• The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
• Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。

10 patchwork   

n.混杂物；拼缝物

参考例句：

• That proposal is nothing else other than a patchwork.那个建议只是一个大杂烩而已。
• She patched new cloth to the old coat,so It'seemed mere patchwork. 她把新布初到那件旧上衣上，所以那件衣服看上去就象拼凑起来的东西。

11 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。