美国国家公共电台 NPR How Schools Can Reduce Sexual Violence

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

With the rise of the #MeToo movement, six states have introduced or passed bills to cover consent in sex ed classes in public schools. But just how do you teach kids about sexual assault? NPR's Anya Kamenetz reports on a program in Providence¹, R.I., that offers an answer.

ANYA KAMENETZ, BYLINE²: It's a rainy Monday morning and students are gathering³ at The Met, a high school in downtown Providence.

JOHNSON THOMAS: Welcome back. I know we haven't seen you all in a couple weeks, right?

KAMENETZ: Workshop leader Johnson Thomas addresses a group of sleepy 10th-graders at round tables in the lunch area.

THOMAS: Today is session four. If you feel uncomfortable, you're more than welcome to leave, step out, go grab a water, go take a walk.

KAMENETZ: This is the last session of a four-part sexual violence prevention workshop. It's offered by Day One, a non-profit. The workshop is based on a principle called social norms. It's like positive peer pressure. For teens, says Day One's Sandra Malone...

SANDRA MALONE: I can still remember. I mean, those are powerful years where you don't want to make yourself vulnerable and stand out, which is huge.

KAMENETZ: People want to blend in. But surveys show that whether it's drugs, alcohol or sex, they tend to assume that, well, everybody else is doing it more than they really are. And over the last two decades, research has shown that giving college students the real information about their peers' moderate drinking reduces risky⁴ drinking. Sandra Malone wondered if this positive social norms approach would work to prevent sexual violence, too. So she designed this program for high school students. The four one-hour sessions discuss scenarios⁵ like street harassment⁶, groping, sexual assault by an acquaintance and cyberbullying. Kevin, who's 15 and has dark, curly hair, says he was cyberbullied in eighth grade.

KEVIN: And that was a horrible experience.

KAMENETZ: Kevin - we're only using first names to protect his privacy - says he's been catcalled, too.

KEVIN: Good thing I was with a friend - like, I was shook.

KAMENETZ: The Day One workshop teaches that most teens don't condone⁷ this kind of behavior. And it helps students think through how to speak up if something happens to them or to a friend. Anyla, one of the most outspoken⁸ students in the class, says...

ANYLA: Because, basically, like, what I learned today - like, you not saying anything is making it look like it's OK. And it will continue because it is continuing.

KAMENETZ: In every group of students, you're not just speaking to potential bystanders or potential victims. Malone, the program's creator, says the social norms approach works for potential perpetrators, too. Kids rethink their choices when they see that their friends won't approve.

MALONE: You can see little light bulbs go off like, I didn't realize that was going to be so offensive, or I didn't think that that person went home and was really upset by it.

KAMENETZ: Researchers at Brown University are currently evaluating this program's effectiveness. But 15-year-old Anyla has learned something. She said that since elementary school, she and her friends would grab each other's rear ends to be funny. But now...

ANYLA: After taking this class, like, no, absolutely not. Like, if you catch me doing that, honestly, tell me to stop, please.

KAMENETZ: Anya Kamenetz, NPR News, Providence, R.I.

1 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

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 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 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。

5 scenarios   

n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本

参考例句：

• Further, graphite cores may be safer than non-graphite cores under some accident scenarios. 再者，根据一些事故解说，石墨堆芯可比非石墨堆芯更安全一些。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Again, scenarios should make it clear which modes are acceptable to users in various contexts. 同样，我们可以运用场景剧本来搞清楚在不同情境下哪些模式可被用户接受。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

6 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。

7 condone   

v.宽恕；原谅

参考例句：

• I cannot condone the use of violence.我不能宽恕使用暴力的行为。
• I will not condone a course of action that will lead us to war.我绝不允许任何导致战争的行为。

8 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。