美国国家公共电台 NPR Germany Takes Steps To Guard Women Against Sexual Assault As They Ring In New Year

 

RAY SUAREZ, HOST:

In Germany this New Year's Eve, authorities have taken extra precautions at outdoor celebrations to prevent sexual harassment¹. In Berlin, organizers of the main party have taken the unusual and, as it turns out, controversial step of creating a women-only zone. This comes after widespread groping and sexual assaults occurred at festivities in Cologne two years ago.

We talked to NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson before the New Year's festivities began. And she told us how Berlin is preparing.

SORAYA SARHADDI NELSON, BYLINE²: At the Brandenburg Gate, you're going to have musical performances, and you're going to have fireworks. And so the police will be creating a perimeter³ there to make sure that the tens of thousands of people are safe. There will be no big backpacks allowed, no alcohol. There's going to be very strict controls there. And this is something that they've instituted because of fears of terrorist attacks.

But what is new this year is what you mentioned, which is that there's a safety zone for women who've been harassed⁴ or assaulted and are looking to escape the crowds. This will be staffed by the German Red Cross, and there will also be psychologists on hand. Berlin hasn't really had these sorts of sexual harassment or assault problems that have been reported. And this safety area is actually generating a lot of criticism.

SUAREZ: Well, it seems pretty straightforward⁵. If, in a large crowd, there are women who are concerned about this kind of maltreatment, what's the problem with having a safety zone on a night like that?

NELSON: Well, there's a lot of concern that this creates the wrong image. The most prominent critic is the head of the German police union, Rainer Wendt. And he told a local newspaper that safety zones make it look like outdoor celebrations are dangerous and that police can't protect people.

And then you have other critics who say that this is great in terms of providing help to victims. But where are the extra steps to apprehend⁶ the criminals? Even here in Berlin - which, you know, I mentioned, there's very strict security in that one area - the rest of the city turns into a pseudo-war zone, if you will, with illegal fireworks that police do very little about.

So in Cologne two years ago, it was the same story. There just wasn't enough protection.

SUAREZ: Remind us of what happened in Cologne the year before last.

NELSON: In the square that's between the Cologne Cathedral, which is very famous, and the train station, they were having a New Year's Eve outdoor celebration, like many cities do. And mobs of men started to attack women.

There ended up being 1,200 complaints of theft, of groping - or worse, cases of sexual assaults. And the people who were being accused were largely described as African- and Arab-looking. So we're talking about, potentially, migrants or refugees.

In the end, there were very few convictions. In the summer of 2016, I think there were two people that were convicted. And they received probationary⁷ sentences for the sexual assault. But the situation did create a no-means-no law, which ended up being passed by the German Parliament in 2016, as well as a revision of police procedure.

SUAREZ: There will be outdoor festivities for the new year in other German cities. Are they pretty much following the Berlin model?

NELSON: Well, they certainly will be having more police on hand, and you're going to see barricades⁸ to try and prevent any sort of terror attacks. Again, the focus has been more on terror attacks than on sexual harassment or sexual assault.

But even with the extra police, we're talking about only a fraction of the number that are actually on duty in Germany. You're not going to see a whole lot more out there, just because Germany has pretty strict labor⁹ laws. So we'll have to see if that's enough.

SUAREZ: That's NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson. She joined us from Berlin. Thanks and happy new year.

NELSON: Happy new year to you, too.

1 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

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 perimeter   

n.周边，周长，周界

参考例句：

• The river marks the eastern perimeter of our land.这条河标示我们的土地东面的边界。
• Drinks in hands,they wandered around the perimeter of the ball field.他们手里拿着饮料在球场周围漫不经心地遛跶。

4 harassed   

adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He has complained of being harassed by the police. 他投诉受到警方侵扰。
• harassed mothers with their children 带着孩子的疲惫不堪的母亲们

5 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

6 apprehend   

vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑

参考例句：

• I apprehend no worsening of the situation.我不担心局势会恶化。
• Police have not apprehended her killer.警察还未抓获谋杀她的凶手。

7 probationary   

试用的，缓刑的

参考例句：

• After a six-month probationary period, she was confirmed in her post. 经过六个月的试用期之后，她获准正式任该职。
• After a three-month probationary period, she was confirmed in her post. 经过三个月的试用期后，她获准正式任职。

8 barricades   

路障，障碍物( barricade的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The police stormed the barricades the demonstrators had put up. 警察冲破了示威者筑起的街垒。
• Others died young, in prison or on the barricades. 另一些人年轻时就死在监牢里或街垒旁。

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。