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VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS 2013-11-18 Making Spousal Rape a Crime

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AS IT IS 2013-11-18 Making Spousal Rape1 a Crime

Hello, and welcome back to As It Is from VOA Learning English.

I’m Christopher Cruise in Washington.

Today on the program, our East Africa Correspondent Gabe Joselow is here with a report on how African men are helping2 stop rape on the continent…

“The government is giving more support to women who are victims of such crimes. It is also talking with men and to criminals who are seeking to improve their lives.  These efforts are happening across Africa.”

But first, we report on the latest efforts to make the rape of a spouse3 a crime in all of Africa…

“You know, there’s the African thing that your husband can’t rape you. You know, they’ll tell you how can your husband rape you? It’s an entitlement.”

Fighting rape in Africa, the subject of our reports today, as you learn everyday American English with As It Is on VOA.

“Rape is rape” -- Making the Rape of a Spouse a Crime

In about half of African countries south of the Sahara Desert, it is not against the law for a man to force his wife to have sex with him. In at least three countries  in the area, laws do not permit women to bring rape charges against their husbands.

There have been efforts to make spousal, or marital4, rape a crime. But they have been debated.

The United Nations Convention on the Elimination5 of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women recognized spousal rape as gender6-based violence in 1980. Sub-Saharan  African countries have taken several actions to make spousal rape a crime since then.

South Africa was one of the first to take action. In 1993, legislators changed a law that said a man could not be charged with raping7 his wife. The new law stated that  “a husband may be convicted of the rape of his wife.”

Since then, almost 20 other African countries have taken similar steps. But Nigeria, Ethiopia and Kenya are not among them. The laws in those countries say rape can  only happen outside of a marriage.

Rape and family violence are underreported throughout Africa. And even in the countries that have made marital rape a crime, few people accept it as such.

In Uganda, a bill making marital rape a crime was controversial when it was debated by parliament earlier this year. The bill gives a wife the right to say no to sex,  but only soon after childbirth or if she believes her husband has a sexually transmitted disease.

Rita Achiro leads the Uganda Women’s Network, which has supported the legislation.

“You know, there’s the African thing that your husband can’t rape you. You know, they’ll tell you how can your husband rape you? It’s an entitlement. That’s,  that’s the belief people have, so we are still going ‘round in circles trying to safeguard women using conditions under which she can deny the other sex. Ideally, it  shouldn’t happen like that -- there shouldn’t be conditions. Rape is rape.”

In the countries that have passed laws against marital rape, punishments differ widely. They include fines and prison time -- from eight days in Burundi to life  imprisonment in Zimbabwe. However, activists8 say sentencing rules are not respected. And they say few women bring rape charges, and few men are punished.

There is much cultural pressure on women not to bring charges. And many women resist putting their husbands in jail because they are the financial providers for the  family.

If they seem to have little effect, why even pass laws against marital rape? Some activists in Africa say it is important to pass such laws to send a strong message  that a woman is not her husband’s property.

Men Help Stop Rape in Africa

Gender-based violence has long been seen as a woman’s issue, even though most gender-based crimes are carried out by men. Now, VOA’s East Africa Correspondent Gabe  Joselow reports, there are more and more programs across Africa to end gender-based violence. He says these programs work with men and dispute traditional beliefs  about what it means to be a man.

One prisoner at Liberia’s Monrovia Central Prison is serving 10 years for raping an 11-year old girl. The 33-year-old admitted to the crime, and is now getting mental  health treatment through a government program for sex criminals. The prisoner spends much of his day learning skills that he hopes will permit him to lead a less- violent life after his release.

“I’m a rapist. I was put in prison for the past two years. I’ve been able to improve my life in prison. I do some life skills programs like animal-raising, soap- making so I feel so much better. One day when I will be released, I will be a good citizen.”

During Liberia’s long civil war there were many rapes9 and other gender-based violence. Such crimes have continued in Liberia since the end of the war.

The government is giving more support to women who are victims of such crimes. It is also talking with men and to criminals who are seeking to improve their lives.  These efforts are happening across Africa.

The women’s organization FEMNET supports gender equality activities across Africa. It has created men-to-men programs in seven countries. It is trying to bring in  more men to support a campaign against gender-based violence.

FEMNET Chairwoman Emma Kaliya is based in Malawi. She says men should be involved in the campaign.

“Personally I do not agree that they are the only perpetrators of violence, but they form, they form the higher percentage of those that are called perpetrators, and  therefore it is necessary that you bring them on board and not leaving them behind on this process of eliminating gender-based violence.”

The effort to bring more men to the campaign seems to be working. Male activists recently protested in Nairobi. They were demanding justice for a female teenage rape  victim. Her attackers were freed after being ordered to cut grass as punishment for the rape.

Kennedy Otina is with FEMNET’s Men-to-Men program in Kenya. He was among the protesters that day. He says that he used to act like what he calls “a typical African  man” with little respect for women. Then, he says, his girlfriend became pregnant and that changed everything.

“The, the lady eventually gave birth to a baby girl and you know that’s where it was a turning point, because my daughter was so innocent and I was just imagining  that if I am the one who is discriminating10 (against) her to that extent, what would happen to a man next door, who doesn’t have much connection to the girl?”

Mr. Otina now works in the community to increase understanding of the high level of sexual violence. Some of the programs give mental health treatment to men involved  in these crimes.

Mr. Otina says men make the mistake of thinking the men-to-men program will help defend male rapists. Mr. Otina says that mistake gives him the chance to talk with the  men responsible for the violence.

“When there’s a case in court then they tend to think or assume that we’ll be the ones to defend them, to support them in court, but you know when they get to us,  we help them understand that violence against women is not acceptable.”

Kennedy Otina says he has a special way to persuade men of the importance of gender equality and ending gender-based violence. He talks to men about the women who are  important in their lives -- like sisters, aunts or grandmothers.

I’m Gabe Joselow, VOA News, Nairobi.


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1 rape PAQzh     
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 helping 2rGzDc     
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。
3 spouse Ah6yK     
n.配偶(指夫或妻)
参考例句:
  • Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
  • What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么?
4 marital SBixg     
adj.婚姻的,夫妻的
参考例句:
  • Her son had no marital problems.她的儿子没有婚姻问题。
  • I regret getting involved with my daughter's marital problems;all its done is to bring trouble about my ears.我后悔干涉我女儿的婚姻问题, 现在我所做的一切将给我带来无穷的烦恼。
5 elimination 3qexM     
n.排除,消除,消灭
参考例句:
  • Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
  • I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。
6 gender slSyD     
n.(生理上的)性,(名词、代词等的)性
参考例句:
  • French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语,所有的名词都有性。
  • Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。
7 raping 4f9bdcc4468fbfd7a8114c83498f4f61     
v.以暴力夺取,强夺( rape的现在分词 );强奸
参考例句:
  • In response, Charles VI sent a punitive expedition to Brittany, raping and killing the populace. 作为报复,查理六世派军讨伐布列塔尼,奸淫杀戮平民。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The conquerors marched on, burning, killing, raping and plundering as they went. 征服者所到之处烧杀奸掠,无所不做。 来自互联网
8 activists 90fd83cc3f53a40df93866d9c91bcca4     
n.(政治活动的)积极分子,活动家( activist的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
  • Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 rapes db4d8af84453b45d758b9eaf77e1eb82     
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
10 discriminating 4umz8W     
a.有辨别能力的
参考例句:
  • Due caution should be exercised in discriminating between the two. 在区别这两者时应该相当谨慎。
  • Many businesses are accused of discriminating against women. 许多企业被控有歧视妇女的做法。

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