美国国家公共电台 NPR Feel In Danger On A Date? These Apps Could Help You Stay Safe

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

All right, much of modern dating takes place online, often using smartphone apps. While the Internet may make getting a date easier, it is still sometimes not so simple to leave a date you don't want to be on. NPR's Allison Aubrey reports on some smartphone apps. They are designed for college students but could be useful for anyone who wants to use technology to help stay safe.

ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE¹: On a recent episode of the popular sitcom² "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," a conversation about sexual consent turns pretty ridiculous. The character Kimmy, who's new to the college scene, meets a guy who is interested in more than just conversation.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT")

CAMERON COWPERTHWAITE: (As Austin) But before we do this, let's review each other's sexual consent forms.

ELLIE KEMPER: (As Kimmy Schmidt) I'm sorry. What is this?

COWPERTHWAITE: (As Austin) It's what I'm agreeing to let you do to me.

KEMPER: (As Kimmy Schmidt) Oh, no. Austin, I like you, but I just met you.

AUBREY: It's over the top. Right? I mean, it's meant as entertainment, but this scene plays off some real-world uncertainty³ over how to navigate⁴ consent. Here is sociologist⁵ Sharyn Potter of the University of New Hampshire.

SHARYN POTTER: There is confusion regarding consent among college-aged men and women.

AUBREY: Potter researches sexual assault prevention strategies. She says sometimes the confusion stems from the different ways that men and women communicate and think about consent.

POTTER: Men see consent as an event, and women see consent as a process.

AUBREY: She says recent studies of college students show that men and women can have very different presumptions⁶ about what to expect on a date or a casual meetup.

POTTER: Think of the example of a man and woman deciding to go back to one of their rooms to watch a movie.

AUBREY: When this happens, the research shows, a woman is more likely to have this expectation.

POTTER: She's agreeing to watch the movie and maybe hold hands.

AUBREY: Whereas men, the research shows, tend to expect more of a sexual encounter.

POTTER: And so it's just these gendered expectations of what's in a yes.

AUBREY: Now, it doesn't always work this way - gender⁷ roles evolve. But either way, if you end up alone with someone whose expectations conflict with your own, the situation can go south quickly. To help prevent this, Sharyn Potter and a bunch of collaborators have come up with something new. They've developed an app called uSafeUS. It was piloted on New Hampshire campuses and is now available for anyone to download. One aim is to help people get out of sticky situations. Student Celine Guedj, who's a senior, explains how the app works.

CELINE GUEDJ: Let's say you match with somebody on Tinder, and you're talking for a couple weeks. And, you know, they say - hey, let's watch a movie at my dorm room. And you think, you know, I'm safe. I'm on campus. This is another student.

AUBREY: But once you get there, things start to get a little weird⁸.

GUEDJ: So now you're in a situation where you're alone with this person. And you are thinking, I need to get out. I no longer feel safe.

AUBREY: That's when, Guedj says, you open the app. With a few quick touches, the app is programmed to start sending you text messages or calls.

GUEDJ: Yeah. You'd get a fake call that sounds like it's your roommate.

AUBREY: She says something like she's locked out and needs your help. Guedj says it seems real, and it gives you an excuse to get out quick.

GUEDJ: You could show that person - oh, hey, look, my roommate just messaged me. Ah, this sucks. I got to go.

AUBREY: So why the ruse⁹? Why not just walk out at the first instinct that something's off? Guedj says that's easier said than done.

GUEDJ: In that situation where you already feel unsafe, you know, they've already given you bad vibes, it's just so important that you can leave discreetly¹⁰ so that it doesn't escalate¹¹.

AUBREY: There are lots of prevention apps out there with similar features. And they're not just for college students. Nancy Schwartzman developed one called Circle of 6. It's marketed as a safety app for everyone. It's being used by people across the country and even on some military bases. It connects circles of friends.

NANCY SCHWARTZMAN: Circle of 6 was designed really mirroring what friends - and especially women - have always done for each other, which is look out for each other - where are you going to be? Check in with me later if you want. I mean, this stuff's always been there, so we just brought it to the mobile context.

AUBREY: Sexual assault is a complex problem. And obviously, apps can't solve it. But Schwartzman and the researchers behind the other safety apps say they hope the technology can help.

Allison Aubrey, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF STEV'S "DUNE")

1 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。

2 sitcom   

n.情景喜剧，（广播、电视的）系列幽默剧

参考例句：

• This sitcom is produced in cooperation with Hong Kong TV.这部连续剧是同香港电视台联合制作的。
• I heard that a new sitcom is coming out next season.我听说下一季会推出一个新的情境喜剧。

3 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

4 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

5 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

6 presumptions   

n.假定( presumption的名词复数 )；认定；推定；放肆

参考例句：

• Much modern technological advance is based on these presumptions of legal security. 许多现代技术的发展都是基于这些法律安全设想的考虑。 来自互联网
• What visions, what expectations and what presumptions can outsoar that flight? 那一种想象，那一种期望和推测能超越他之上呢？ 来自互联网

7 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。

8 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

9 ruse   

n.诡计，计策；诡计

参考例句：

• The children thought of a clever ruse to get their mother to leave the house so they could get ready for her surprise.孩子们想出一个聪明的办法使妈妈离家，以便他们能准备给她一个惊喜。It is now clear that this was a ruse to divide them.现在已清楚这是一个离间他们的诡计。

10 discreetly   

ad.(言行)审慎地，慎重地

参考例句：

• He had only known the perennial widow, the discreetly expensive Frenchwoman. 他只知道她是个永远那么年轻的寡妇，一个很会讲排场的法国女人。
• Sensing that Lilian wanted to be alone with Celia, Andrew discreetly disappeared. 安德鲁觉得莉莲想同西莉亚单独谈些什么，有意避开了。

11 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。