VOA慢速英语--空手道冠军为性暴力受害者而战

Karate¹ Champion Fights for Victims of Sexual Violence

Laurence Fischer of France is a three-time world karate champion.

Fischer has fought against strong opponents. But today she is fighting a different battle. This opponent cannot be seen and is hard to defeat. It is the trauma² -- the emotional harm -- that comes from sexual violence.

Just outside Paris, Fischer teaches karate at La Maison des Femmes, or The Women’s Home. It is a special center for women who have lived through sexual violence. The center offers medical treatment and training for the mind — but also therapeutic³ classes, like karate.

Fischer hopes she can help her students heal through the sport.

"Karate is a way to reconnect ourself to ourself. Because of the trauma, there's a kind of disassociation ... because of the suffering, they are not connected."

Fischer began teaching karate to women after she retired⁵ from competition more than 10 years ago.

Her work in the DRC

Since 2014, she has traveled every year to the Democratic Republic of Congo. There, sexual violence is so common that it is sometimes called the rape⁴ capital of the world.

Two years ago, Fischer set up a non-governmental organization called Fight for Dignity. She says karate not only helps women to heal, but to regain⁶ the ability to believe in one’s self.

“It's incredible how it can impact, also, their relations with their children, with their boyfriend, with the way to find job after, the relations with the others. It's more than just practicing because we are not only brain, we are also body. And when the both are connected, it's very powerful."

A year ago, Fischer met M’bamoussa Soumare at The Women's Home. At the age of 12, Soumare was raped⁷ by a relative in her native Mali. Her family forced her to marry the man. She had four children, while he continued to beat her. Finally, last year, she was able to escape to France with help from a sister living there.

Ghada Hatem is a gynecologist and the founder⁸ of The Women’s Home.

"Some of them are victims of …violence, others of incest. All kinds of violence in fact. We try to help them," she says.

Hatem believes Fischer’s work with the women is important.

"I think that karate is a very good sport for these women…and it's very important for our patients to work on their own body through these trauma[s]."

Drinking tea after karate class

Fischer and her students gather together and drink tea after every class. It is a time to make friends.

Thirty-year-old Aissata Djiakite has been going to The Women's Home for more than a year. She says that when a woman is sexually assaulted, she feels weak. She says Fischer helps the women leave behind their pain and gives them back reasons to live.

"When you're sexually attacked, you feel weak… but with Karate you really want to live... Laurence gave us back our smiles," she says.

Fischer plans to return to the Democratic Republic of Congo. She wants to help some of her female students there to start karate classes in their villages — so they can help other women fight against sexual assault.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

karate – n. a form of fighting that was developed in Japan in which your feet and hands are used to kick and hit an opponent

trauma – n. a very difficult or unpleasant experience that causes someone to have mental or emotional problems usually for a long time

assault – n. a violent physical attack

therapeutic – adj. producing good effects on your body or mind

dignity – n. the quality of being worthy⁹ of honor or respect

confidence – n. a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something

gynecologist – n. medicine that deals with the diseases and routine physical care of the reproductive system of women

incest – n. sexual intercourse between people who are very closely related

1 karate   

n.空手道(日本的一种徒手武术)

参考例句：

• Alice's boyfriend knew a little karate.艾丽斯的男朋友懂一点儿空手道。
• The black belt is the highest level in karate.黑腰带级是空手道的最高级别。

2 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

3 therapeutic   

adj.治疗的，起治疗作用的；对身心健康有益的

参考例句：

• Therapeutic measures were selected to fit the patient.选择治疗措施以适应病人的需要。
• When I was sad,music had a therapeutic effect.我悲伤的时候，音乐有治疗效力。

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 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

7 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

8 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

9 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。