VOA标准英语2010年-Rape Counseling Centers in DRC Address

Opened as safe havens¹ where rape² victims can receive emotional support, the International Committee of the Red Cross' counseling centers in the Democratic Republic of Congo are also trying to help the women who are pregnant as a result of the rapes³.
Rape victimsWhen the International Committee of the Red Cross began opening the Listening Houses in the Democratic Republic of Congo, they expected to hear the stories of rape that occurred in the North and South Kivu regions. But they also began seeing dozens of women arrive every month with unwanted pregnancies⁴ as results of the rapes, says the ICRC's Women in War Advisor⁵, Nadine Puechguirbal.
"That's a very delicate situation, because the work of psychosocial will be very important, because they have to find out also what's the state of mind of the pregnant woman if she wants to keep the baby if she's angry at herself or the baby because she has been raped⁶ and now she carries that baby and so what to do next," Puechguirbal said.
Teenage pregnanciesFrom July to September in 2010 alone, 86 women who had become pregnant as a result of rape arrived at the houses, which serve as rape counseling centers, said Puechguirbal. More than half of those pregnancies were girls younger than 18. She says the psychosocial workers at the centers encourage the women to welcome the baby. She adds they are not allowed to recommend abortion⁷, because it is illegal in the DRC, so the workers urge both the women and their communities to accept and raise the child.
"And that's where we are working a lot within the community not only to accept the woman... the community accept the woman back into her family and into her own environment, but also to accept the baby and the children born of rape," she added.
The ICRC began working with local partners to develop the Listening Houses in the DRC in 2007. The Listening Houses, known by their French name, "Maisons d'Ecoute," were created to provide a sanctuary⁸ where women who were raped can go to receive both psychosocial and limited medical support.
"If you have one woman who has been raped and she doesn't know where to go and she has heard that there is there is a Maison d'Ecoute in her village she can go to and tell her story to trained local psychosocial workers," said Puechguirbal. "So the woman arrives, she's welcomed by one of the psychosocial workers, she's given food and clothes if needed, she can also spend the night or two there"Social stigmaAfter the houses began opening, they realized they also had a platform to help the pregnant women who were coming to them as a result of rape. They began tracking how many pregnant women they received each three months, and began to think about the kind of help they could offer them.
"All the issues around rape and sexual violence are really taboo⁹ and women don't really talk about this subject, so it's extremely difficult for them after being raped, they keep the stories for themselves," Puechguirbal added.
Rape is often used as a weapon in the DRC, where armed conflict has resulted in the deadliest war since World War II, killing¹⁰ more than 5.4 million people. According to the top United Nations envoy¹¹ in the country, more than 15,000 women were raped in Eastern Congo in 2009.

1 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 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

4 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。

5 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

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 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

8 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

9 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

10 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

11 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。