VOA标准英语2010年-Silence Breeds Violence Against Girls

Anne Look | Dakar 29 June 2010

Fearing social stigma¹, families in Senegal's southern region are remaining silent in the face of widespread sexual violence against girls, says a study released this month.

A study released this month revealed alarming rates of violence against girls aged² 10-18 in Senegal's southern regions of Ziguinchor, Kolda and Sédhiou.  Conducted by the U.N. Children's Fund and the University of Ziguinchor, the study says breaking the silence around sexual violence in the region is key to protecting girls.  But a state education worker in the Sédhiou region, Yadicone Sané Diatta, says that too often a family's honor is put ahead of the child's needs.

Diatta says silence to preserve the family's honor often is a family's first reaction when a girl is raped³.  She says the girl has perhaps already been promised in marriage, so her family does not want her to be stigmatized⁴ by the community.  Diatta says the family prefers to handle it themselves instead of going to the authorities.  It is also not rare, she says, for the perpetrator to be an uncle, cousin or other family member.

Diatta says the silence breeds impunity⁵. She points to one teacher who was imprisoned⁶ after impregnating one of his students this year, but cites that as the exception.  Many cases, she says, are not even reported, which just encourages perpetrators.

Head of girl's education for the Ziginchor region, Aminata Traoré, said girls are at risk in schools and in the community.  She says many of the girls attacked are from poor families and they go on the street to sell peanuts and bananas, where they are exposed to risk.  Traoré says there are many cases of these girls being raped.  Also, sometimes the very people who are supposed to be protecting the girls take advantage of them, and the girls become pregnant.

Local education authorities say rates of early marriage and pregnancy⁷ among girls aged 10-18 in Senegal's southern regions are alarming. The report pointed⁸ to more than 700 girls, from 10-18, who were pregnant in 2009.

Education specialist in the Kolda region, Oumar Diatta, says early pregnancy is a form of violence against girls because it has negative effects on their health, their morality and their education.  The girls are very young, he says, so pregnancy and childbirth, often in rural areas, are difficult and risky⁹.  He also says traditional practices still common in the Kolda region, like female genital mutilation and forced early marriage, constitute forms of violence.

Researchers hope the study will be a call to action for local authorities and international actors to work together to better assist victims and fight violence against children.

UNICEF's head in Ziguinchor, Christina de Bruin, says systems for child protection need to be improved, along with encouraging social change in how people deal with this violence, and reinforcing partnerships¹⁰ and protection systems to deal with emergency cases.  She says this study has helped by collecting the data, and now the need is clear to work to better protect children.  She says prevention is the first step.

Those working on child protection in the region say educating families and children about sexual violence and children's rights is paramount¹¹ in keeping girls safe.
 

1 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

2 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

3 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

4 stigmatized   

v.使受耻辱，指责，污辱( stigmatize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was stigmatized as an ex-convict. 他遭人污辱，说他给判过刑。 来自辞典例句
• Such a view has been stigmatized as mechanical jurisprudence. 蔑称这种观点为机械法学。 来自辞典例句

5 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

6 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

7 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

8 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

9 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

10 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

11 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。