美国国家公共电台 NPR How To Talk To Young People About The Kavanaugh Story

How To Talk To Young People About The Kavanaugh Story

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

There can be no doubt that this has happened to a lot of parents lately. They're in the car with their kids, and the radio is on, and a story about Christine Blasey Ford¹ comes on that radio. She accused Supreme² Court nominee³ Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault when both were teenagers. How do you talk about that story with teenagers? We should warn you that some people may find the next 3 minutes or so disturbing. Here's NPR's Anya Kamenetz.

ANYA KAMENETZ, BYLINE⁴: In 2017, a teenager named Francesca was assaulted by a classmate.

FRANCESCA: One night during the summer, I was pinned down, and he fondled with my breasts and sexually assaulted me.

KAMENETZ: We're only using her first name because she's 15 years old. She struggled with coming forward, but eventually became an activist⁵ and public speaker on consent. For far too many young people like Francesca who are listening to the news right now, they're not learning about sexual violation⁶ because it's already happened - if not to them, then to someone they know.

What they are learning is whether the adults in power will take such claims seriously and whether speaking up results in harsher consequences for survivors⁸ or for those accused. Debra Hauser is president of Advocates for Youth, a national nonprofit that works for honest sexual health education. She calls this moment...

DEBRA HAUSER: A little bit of a, I think, battle for kind of the soul of our nation and whether we'll have equity⁹ for young women or not.

KAMENETZ: So how are we supposed to talk to our children about all this? Hauser says the reality is...

HAUSER: As parents, you're the primary sexuality educator of your children, whether you're saying anything or not.

KAMENETZ: But, Hauser says, when something like this is in the news...

HAUSER: This is a teachable moment, so to speak, that a parent can use.

KAMENETZ: She says your goal is to be someone your kids can turn to in a tough situation.

HAUSER: The most important thing is to try to be an askable (ph) parent.

KAMENETZ: In other words, a parent who is open to being asked about anything.

HAUSER: And so, in this situation, I think, having a conversation about what happened, why it happened, what's going on right now, what your child might think of the situation.

KAMENETZ: Sexual assault is one of the hardest topics to bring up. But as a parent, you don't have to have all the right answers. You don't even have to have any answer.

KAREN RAYNE: You just need to engage in the conversation.

KAMENETZ: Karen Rayne is a sex educator with a nonprofit called Unhushed. She says we need to think about what we tell potential perpetrators.

RAYNE: You know, it's the people who are doing the sexual assaulting that need a different kind of education and a different kind of support starting from a very young age about things like when they're attracted to someone or interested in someone and that person rejects them.

KAMENETZ: With the right education, says Rayne, a young man might be able to say...

HAUSER: Oh, you know what? I've been drinking too much, and I feel like my capacity to make wise decisions is failing me. Or, oh, hey, you know, when someone's trying to push me off of them, that's something that I should take as a cue to get off.

KAMENETZ: For Francesca, the 15-year-old survivor⁷, she's worried about the lessons this moment in history will teach.

FRANCESCA: People already do not take kids seriously, and when survivors' needs are ignored after sexual assault, they suffer even more.

KAMENETZ: She says, no matter what happens, teenagers and their parents need to come forward and break their silence.

Anya Kamenetz, NPR News.

1 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 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。

4 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。

5 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

6 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

7 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

8 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

9 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。