VOA标准英语2009年-Human Rights Groups Want US Leadership in

By Elizabeth Lee
Washington
23 October 2009
According to the World Health Organization, one in three women in the world will experience violence in her lifetime. Human Rights groups are urging members of Congress to pass the International Violence Against Women Act. The Act would require a commitment by the U.S. government to address and end violence against women and girls globally. It would fund a five-year program to reduce violence in countries where the problem is most serious. 

Brutality³ against women

Some of the most innocent and helpless become victims of the most brutal² crimes.
 
 
Ntamitonde
"I feel pain in my heart. I cannot go back because of what they did to me," Ntamitonde ( rape⁴ victim) sadly recalls, "Three people raped⁵ me in front of my son."

Rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo raped this woman, took her clothes and burned her house, leaving her homeless and shamed.

She is one of hundreds of thousands of women in the DRC who have been caught in a civil war and sexually assaulted.

Advocates say more must be done to address the problem

"The United States condemns⁶ these attacks and all those who commit them and abet¹ them. And we state to the world that those who attack civilian⁷ populations using systematic⁸ rape are guilty of crimes against humanity," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton states.

In August, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged more than $17 million to fight sexual violence in Congo. But human rights groups say the United States must do more.

Actress and UN goodwill⁹ ambassador Nicole Kidman told members of Congress that women around the world are victims of rape, human trafficking and domestic violence.
"Violence against women is not prosecuted¹⁰ because it is not a top government and urgent social priority," she says, "We can change this."

Kidman and human rights groups are asking Congress to take up and pass the International Violence Against Women Act.

The bill was first introduced in 2007 by then Senator Joe Biden. It would provide funding to help end violence against women and girls in developing countries.

Democratic Congressman¹¹ Bill Delahunt says he and other lawmakers plan on reintroducing the legislation soon.

 
If passed, it would provide funding for assault victims including health care. The dollars would also provide training for local police in preventing violence against women.

Human rights groups would also like the U.S. to partner with grassroots organizations that educate and empower women in developing countries.

Sina Vann works with victims of abuse in Cambodia. She was sold to a house of prostitution in the capital, Phnom Penh, when she was 13. "I was told to find them some money each day. If I didn't do that, I would be electrocuted," she explains.

She was held captive and tortured for more than two years until a human rights group rescued her. She is now helping¹² other victims learn new skills and start a new life.

Melanne Verveer is an ambassador at large at the US State Department. "It is critical that education and economic viability¹³ are absolutely important tools to address this problem," she said.

She adds, violence against women is also an issue of national security. "The correlation¹⁴ is clear. Where women are oppressed, governance is weak and extremism is more likely to take hold," she asserts.
 
Human rights groups and the women they protect will have to wait and see if there is enough support in Congress to make the bill a reality.

1 abet   

v.教唆，鼓励帮助

参考例句：

• Do not abet your friend to pry into other people's privacy.不要唆使朋友去窥探别人隐私。
• Be do grateful to those who rebuke you,because they abet your wisdom!一定要感激那些斥责你的人，因为他们助长了你的智慧！

2 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

3 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

4 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。

5 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

6 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

8 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

9 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

10 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

11 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 viability   

n.存活(能力)

参考例句：

• What is required to achieve or maintain such viability? 要达到或维持这种生存能力需要什么？
• Scientists are experimenting to find ways to ensure the viability of seeds for even longer periods of time. 正如我们所说，科学家正在试验努力寻找让种子的生命力更加延长的方法。

14 correlation   

n.相互关系，相关，关连

参考例句：

• The second group of measurements had a high correlation with the first.第二组测量数据与第一组高度相关。
• A high correlation exists in America between education and economic position.教育和经济地位在美国有极密切的关系。