美国国家公共电台 NPR Clergy Sex Abuse Survivors Face Lifelong Financial Burdens

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Being a victim of child sexual abuse can affect a person's entire life from health and relationships to spirituality. And the loss of income can be enormous. We're going to consider those long-term monetary¹ costs by looking at the recent Pennsylvania grand jury report on clergy² sex abuse. There are more than a thousand victims documented in that report, but just a handful can even bring civil lawsuits³ which might lead to financial restitution⁴. Sarah Boden of member station WESA has the story.

SARAH BODEN, BYLINE⁵: When Ray Santori was 10, his mother died. His father had died the year before, so an aunt and uncle near Pittsburgh took him in. At St. Bernadette's church in Monroeville, Pa., Santori met Father William Yockey, who according to the grand jury report sexually assaulted him for about two years.

RAY SANTORI: I mean, I sometimes couldn't look people in the eye because they would know.

BODEN: Santori started drinking, using drugs, ended up leaving the house before finishing high school. He's been homeless, incarcerated⁶.

SANTORI: I felt that everybody knew that I was sexually abused.

BODEN: Today Santori says he's 26 months sober and makes a decent living as a carpenter. But economically, the 53-year-old is not in good shape.

SANTORI: The sexual abuse drove me into such a dark place that it was hard to get a grip on responsibility, reality, you know, saving money.

BODEN: During more than three decades of addiction⁷, Santori estimates he spent up to $2 million on drugs and alcohol.

SANTORI: I know this. I'll probably have to work till the day I die.

BODEN: Many survivors⁸ of clergy sex abuse struggle financially. Health economist⁹ Derek Brown at George Washington University in St. Louis (ph) specializes in studying the effects of child maltreatment. This spring, he published research on the lifetime financial burden of child sex abuse.

DEREK BROWN: We can compare it to, say, costs of disease, you know, to other kinds of injury or illness.

BODEN: Brown factored in things like medical care and quality of life. Per individual, this loss averages more than $80,000, and that's not including loss of income. All told, the financial effects can average more than $300,000.

BROWN: If you have a modest impact of a few thousand dollars a year in earnings¹⁰ but that accumulates over the life cycle, you have 40-plus years of those impacts for a victim.

BODEN: Survivors of sex abuse often develop depression and anxiety, which affects their performance at work or school.

TOM PLANTE: And then there's reminders¹¹ all around us.

BODEN: Psychologist Tom Plante at Santa Clara University researches clergy sexual assault.

PLANTE: Maybe you drive by a church or you see a - you're watching a movie, and all of a sudden a priest shows up in the movie. Or you are asked to attend a wedding or a funeral.

BODEN: Plante says while sexual assault of any kind is traumatizing, with clergy offenders¹² they're often seen as these godlike leaders whom no one questions. As a result, he says, many victims develop issues with hierarchy¹³, which career-wise is problematic.

PLANTE: They may have troubles or issues with, you know, the boss at work because it's hard for them to potentially trust those who have authority and power.

BODEN: Plante says it's hard to always draw a clear connection since perpetrators tend to target kids like Ray Santori who are already troubled. And Santori isn't positive the abuse led him to blowing millions of dollars on drugs and alcohol.

SANTORI: But I definitely look back and am disheartened by how quick the time passed and how far behind the game I am.

BODEN: At this point, Santori says there's nothing he can do but keep moving forward. For NPR News, I'm Sarah Boden in Pittsburgh.

[POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION: In this story, we incorrectly say that Derek Brown is at George Washington University in St. Louis. The correct name is Washington University.]

1 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

2 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

3 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

4 restitution   

n.赔偿；恢复原状

参考例句：

• It's only fair that those who do the damage should make restitution.损坏东西的人应负责赔偿，这是再公平不过的了。
• The victims are demanding full restitution.受害人要求全额赔偿。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 incarcerated   

钳闭的

参考例句：

• They were incarcerated for the duration of the war. 战争期间，他们被关在狱中。 来自辞典例句
• I don't want to worry them by being incarcerated. 我不想让他们知道我被拘禁的事情。 来自电影对白

7 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

8 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

9 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

10 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

11 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。

12 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

13 hierarchy   

n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层

参考例句：

• There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
• She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。