【英语时差8,16】虐待的真相

 Everybody knows that the Catholic Church has been shaken in the past few years by scandals involving the sexual abuse of children. There may even be a general suspicion among some people that Catholic priests are more likely to abuse children than other people. But does actual data bear this out?   Unfortunately, the story the data tell is even worse than that. Catholic priests are not the only members of official religions who abuse children, though they may make the most headlines. Heartbreakingly, abuse is also perpetrated by ministers, by rabbis, by native healers, and in general by people in positions of authority across the entire spectrum¹ of religions.

This distressing² finding comes from a long study done by Bette L. Bottoms at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She directed two separate national surveys, combining data from over two thousand mental health professionals and over four hundred police agencies. Most cases involved corroborating³ evidence or an admission of guilt⁴.

She found that although the majority of the abuse cases involved priests, by no means were they the only perpetrators. Other findings that go against the popular suspicion include the fact that girls are often the victims of these crimes as well. And sexual abuse was only about equally as common as other forms of abuse, such as severe physical punishment.

Finally, Bottoms notes that her surveys found zero instances of Satanic cults⁵ abusing children. There was a time back in the nineties when the idea that Satanic cults existed and were abusing children was widespread, but the data don't back this up--though the actual facts are even more sobering.  

1 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

2 distressing   

a.使人痛苦的

参考例句：

• All who saw the distressing scene revolted against it. 所有看到这种悲惨景象的人都对此感到难过。
• It is distressing to see food being wasted like this. 这样浪费粮食令人痛心。

3 corroborating   

v.证实，支持（某种说法、信仰、理论等）( corroborate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Neither can one really conclude much from a neat desk, unless there is further corroborating evidence. 实际上，我们也无法从一张整洁的办公桌中得出什么结论，除非还有其它证据进一步证实。 来自互联网

4 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

5 cults   

n.迷信( cult的名词复数 )；狂热的崇拜；（有极端宗教信仰的）异教团体

参考例句：

• Religious cults and priesthoods are sectarian by nature. 宗教崇拜和僧侣界天然就有派性。 来自辞典例句
• All these religions were flourishing side by side with many less prominent cults. 所有这些宗教和许多次要的教派一起，共同繁荣。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史