VOA慢速英语2014 在美国如何处理性侵犯问题

 

AS IT IS 2014-12-22 How the US Deals with its Sexual Assault Problem 在美国如何处理性侵犯问题

Sexual assault – sexual attack -- happens in countries all around the world. Recent news reports about gang rapes² in India and sexual violence at universities have pushed the issue into intense public attention.

Many Americans are dealing³ with the problem.  They are hearing and reading about the issue, from awareness⁴ and activism at colleges to programs to fight it at the highest levels of government.

Lindsay Aramayo is taking a self-defense class at a college just outside Washington.

“This class has been a great tool to me because I know what’s going on in the other campuses and I know that I can defend myself."

It’s easy to understand why young women want to learn self-defense skills.

A just-released study shows that women 18 to 24 had the highest rate of rape¹ and sexual assault of females in all other age groups. The study by the U.S. Department of Justice was made between 1995 and 2013.

And many of those assaults are taking place at American colleges and universities.

Daniel Carter is an advocate for campus security.  He says while self-defense is an important part of preventing sexual assault, it doesn’t deal with the root of the problem.

“We’ve got to change our culture of tolerating it, of allowing both stranger and acquaintance perpetrators to re-offend and having a society that allows it and looks the other way.”

Kassie Edwards also takes part in the self-defense class.  She  agrees.

In October of 2008, she was sexually assaulted at her university in Florida.  She was working at the college library at the time.

“I had a truck of books, and I was getting ready to put them on the shelf and I noticed a man was on the same floor and he was in a hoodie. And I didn’t think anything of it and I went down the aisle⁵ to put the books on the shelf and then the man came from behind and he put me in a choke hold, and he brought me to the floor and that’s when he raped⁶ me.”

Kassie Edwards says she reported the assault to police, but her attacker was not caught. He went on to rape at least three other women before he was finally arrested and found guilty of the rapes --- and for the murder of his girlfriend.

Since she was attacked, Kassie Edwards has reached out to other rape victims.

“I think me talking helps other victims see that it’s not something that we should be ashamed of.”

Kassie Edwards has also worked with the Obama Administration campaign to end sexual violence on American campuses.

The campaign includes a Public Service Announcement featuring movie stars, musicians and politicians including the president.

“As far as we’ve come, the fact is that from sports leagues to pop culture to politics, our society still does not sufficiently⁷ value women. We still don’t condemn⁸ sexual assault as loudly as we should. We make excuses. We look the other way. The message that sends can have a chilling effect on our young women.”

As the issue of sexual assault continues to be discussed, the hope is that one day soon, women of all ages can walk the streets and campuses of America without fear.

Words in This Story

awareness – n.  knowledge that something (such as a situation, condition or problem) exists

assault - n. the crime of trying or threatening to hurt someone physically⁹

self-defense – n. the act of defending yourself

advocate – n. a person who argues for or supports a cause or policy

perpetrator – n.  the criminal

choke hold – v. a method of holding someone by putting your arm around the person’s neck with enough pressure to make breathing difficult or impossible

1 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

2 rapes   

n.芸苔( rape的名词复数 )；强奸罪；强奸案；肆意损坏v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的第三人称单数 )；强奸

参考例句：

• The man who had committed several rapes was arrested. 那个犯了多起强奸案的男人被抓起来了。 来自辞典例句
• The incidence of reported rapes rose 0.8 percent. 美国联邦调查局还发布了两份特别报告。 来自互联网

3 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。

4 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

5 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

6 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

7 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

8 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

9 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。