美国国家公共电台 NPR To Prevent Sexual Assault, Schools And Parents Start Lessons Early

To Prevent Sexual Assault, Schools And Parents Start Lessons Early

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

If you're a freshmen¹ heading to college this fall, chances are you'll undergo some kind of crash course aimed at preventing campus sexual assault. But for many, it is too little too late. And as NPR's Tovia Smith reports, there's a growing push for efforts like this to start in high school or even younger.

TOVIA SMITH, BYLINE²: If colleges are the hunting ground, as they've been called, for sexual predators³, advocates say high schools are the breeding ground and any solution must start there.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BOB KRAFT: I have a couple granddaughters in college. And, you know, I'm just thinking, holy mackerel - let's get to the root of it.

(APPLAUSE)

SMITH: That's New England Patriots⁴ owner Bob Kraft who recently put up half a million dollars and his team's star power to expand a dating violence prevention program called MVP into high schools.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KRAFT: It's about respect and listening. We have to make this cool.

DANNY RYAN: He talked about cool. That's - yeah, that's as cool as it gets, definitely.

SMITH: Danny Ryan - he'll be a junior at Lincoln-Sudbury High School (ph) - was one of hundreds of students star-struck by Kraft and big-name players boosting the program that teaches teens about healthy relationships, how to spot the risky⁵ ones and how to intervene to help another student in a jam. Recent Lincoln-Sudbury grad Otto Zaccardo says the training has already enabled him to do that for a friend.

OTTO ZACCARDO: That could've been the next situation. But it was stopped and taken care of and completely - in her words, changed this young woman's life. And it just made all the difference.

SMITH: High-profile cases of sexual assault from elite⁶ prep schools to public middle and high schools have underscored the problem in younger grades. Close to a hundred elementary and secondary schools are now being investigated for Title IX violations⁷. That's two and a half times what it was a year ago. Zaccardo says attitudes need to be adjusted when kids are young.

ZACCARDO: It starts to be a part of your culture. So by the time you get to college, it's second nature. It's already hardwired into our brain.

PAUL SCHEWE: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, college is just way too late.

SMITH: University of Illinois professor Paul Schewe, who studies violence prevention, says even within high school, programs are less effective each passing year. So for example, what works well on ninth-graders has only about a third the impact on 12th-graders.

SCHEWE: It just makes sense. When kids go through puberty, that's when their ideas about sex and beliefs and behaviors are forming. And so that's really a critical period.

SMITH: Schewe says the conversation really should start even younger. Indeed, Kate Rohdenburg, who runs a violence prevention program in Vermont and New Hampshire called WISE, says even 5 and 6-year-olds can be taught basic principles of boundaries and autonomy.

KATE ROHDENBURG: So of course, we're not saying the word antonymous⁸ to kindergartners. But we talk about, who here likes hugs? And some kids raised their hand, and some don't. Well, how are we supposed to know if this person wants a hug when they're feeling sad or not? And kindergartners will tell you that you should ask them (laughter).

SMITH: A growing number of states are now mandating⁹ public schools have some sort of education around sexual assault. Nine passed new laws in the past year and a half, bringing the total to about 25. And nationally, a law now encourages it.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TIM KAINE: I would like it to move more over into the you have to do it - you can do it your way, but you have to do it.

SMITH: That's bill co-sponsor, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, now the Democratic nominee¹⁰ for vice¹¹ president.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KAINE: Look, there's traditional skittishness¹² about sex ed in the K-12 system.

KEVIN FOX: I think schools, in dealing¹³ with situations like this, are probably where colleges were 10 to 15 years ago.

SMITH: Kevin Fox is a former Massachusetts high school counselor¹⁴ who says he was forced to resign after criticizing his school's handling of sexual assault allegations. He says high schools are not only missing the best window of opportunity to curb¹⁵ the problem, he says they're actually exacerbating¹⁶ it.

FOX: I think these kids go off to college and - you know, I got away with it once, I can get away with it again. I mean, it's a classic, I think, dynamic that occurs.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Ready?

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Chanting) No. No. No.

SMITH: Self-defense classes for girls is another approach schools are taking to attack sexual assault...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GROUP: (Chanting) No. No. No...

SMITH: Many advocates bristle¹⁷ at the female focus, saying that putting the onus¹⁸ on women to fend¹⁹ off an attack is a kind of victim-blaming. But in Watertown, Mass., where self-defense is one of three different prevention programs in place, school superintendent²⁰ Jean Fitzgerald says the approach must be part of any solution.

JEAN FITZGERALD: We're trying to make sure that the girls don't become a victim. We're not blaming the victims. And there's nothing wrong with teaching someone how to keep yourself safe.

DEBRA ROBBIN: It's a challenging question because I'm a parent also. And I...

SMITH: Debra Robbin, from the violence prevention group Jane Doe, Inc., says ultimately, the answer is different for parents and policymakers, who she says can't send girls the message that it's on them to stop sexual assault, whether by fighting back, drinking less or anything else.

ROBBIN: A public health strategy looks at who is perpetrating, and that's really where our efforts need to be. But what you're going to tell your child is a different thing. Of course, we want to say those things.

SMITH: And increasingly, parents are. Regardless of how much schools address the issue, more parents are taking it upon themselves to keep their sons and daughters from becoming victims or perpetrators. Tovia Smith, NPR News.

1 freshmen   

n.（中学或大学的）一年级学生( freshman的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We are freshmen and they are sophomores. 我们是一年级学生，他们是二年级学生。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• University freshmen get lots of razzing, but they like the initiation. 大一新生受各种嘲弄，但是他们对这种入门经验甘之如饴。 来自辞典例句

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

5 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

6 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

7 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

8 antonymous   

adj.反义的

参考例句：

• Similar to antonymous paradigmatic relation, differentiated paradigmatic relation is created from peoples psychological association. 像反义聚合一样，别义聚合也是在人们心理联想的基础上形成的。

9 mandating   

托管（mandate的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Current requirements mandating that committees keep minutes are too general. 目前对委员会要保持详细记录的指令性要求，还是太过一般化了。
• Mandating that workers who quit without permission forfeit a month's wages. 规定工人私自离岗将受到罚没一个月工资的处罚。

10 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

11 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

12 skittishness   

n.活泼好动；难以驾驭

参考例句：

13 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

14 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

15 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

16 exacerbating   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• This pedagogical understretch is exacerbating social inequalities. 这种教学张力不足加重了社会不平等。 来自互联网
• High fertilizer prices are exacerbating the problem. 高涨的肥料价格更加加剧了问题的恶化。 来自互联网

17 bristle   

v.（毛发）直立，气势汹汹，发怒；n.硬毛发

参考例句：

• It has a short stumpy tail covered with bristles.它粗短的尾巴上鬃毛浓密。
• He bristled with indignation at the suggestion that he was racist.有人暗示他是个种族主义者，他对此十分恼火。

18 onus   

n.负担；责任

参考例句：

• The onus is on government departments to show cause why information cannot bedisclosed.政府部门有责任说明不能把信息公开的理由。
• The onus of proof lies with you.你有责任提供证据。

19 fend   

v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开

参考例句：

• I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
• He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。

20 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。