美国国家公共电台 NPR Harassment Scandals Shine Spotlight On Confidentiality Clauses

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

As allegations of sexual misconduct continue to come out against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and many others, some are taking aim at the legal process that's helped keep their secrets for so long. While Weinstein has denied many of the allegations, the list of his accusers has grown to nearly 60. And many have reportedly signed confidentiality¹ clauses to settle their claims. As NPR's Tovia Smith reports, some states are now looking to ban those kinds of secrecy² pacts³ in cases of sexual misconduct.

TOVIA SMITH, HOST:

When a former assistant of Harvey Weinstein broke a hush⁴ clause in a settlement she says she signed with him, she told the Financial Times she wanted to out not only Weinstein but also the, quote, "egregious⁵" secrecy pacts that have long gagged her and so many others, including Lisa Senecal.

LISA SENECAL: Unfortunately, because of the nondisclosure agreement that I'm under, there's very little that I'm able to say about the incident.

SMITH: Senecal, who works in marketing⁶ and serves on the Vermont Commission on Women, says after she was sexually assaulted by an executive she worked for, she signed a confidentiality clause that bars her from discussing what happened even with family.

SENECAL: It's incredibly frustrating⁷. Part of healing for a lot of survivors⁸ is being able to talk to other survivors. So just that is very difficult.

CONNIE LEYVA: For me, in my mind, it just - I thought enough was enough. This just has to stop.

SMITH: California State Senator Connie Leyva is drafting legislation that would make secret settlements in cases of sexual assault or harassment⁹ illegal, as California has already done in cases of child abuse. Leyva says it's a matter of public safety.

LEYVA: Perpetrators should not be able to buy women's silence. The most important thing is that the perpetrator is named, that the company is named. You can run, but you can no longer hide.

SMITH: Similar legislation is in the works in New Jersey¹⁰. And a New York proposal would ensure that even the strictest employment contracts could not stop employees from speaking up about sexual misconduct. But defense¹¹ attorneys object. Dallas lawyer Lorin Subar says companies would be much less inclined to settle without confidentiality because of what he calls the bandwagon effect.

LORIN SUBAR: Harvey Weinstein becomes the poster child for that because it went from absolute silence to hey, you know what? That happened to me. Hey, that happened to me. And that does not mean that it didn't. But it certainly allows people to try to take advantage of a situation just because it's in the press.

SMITH: Subar has people have a right to enter into any contract they see fit, as long as it's legal. And he says confidentiality in settlements can be good for both sides.

SUBAR: They are clearly hush money. And that always sounds evil and always sounds bad. But, as we know, unfortunately, a lot of victims of sexual assault - it's embarrassing to them. So they don't have to air their dirty laundry in public, either.

SMITH: The stigma¹² may be diminishing now as more women share their stories. Lisa Senecal says she'd probably worry less today about being shamed or professionally blacklisted than when she signed her secrecy clause. But it's a personal decision, she says. And it's still too soon to take away the option of confidentiality.

SENECAL: That would be making the decision for a woman - that if you are going to come forward, you are coming forward to the world. And I'm afraid that could have a chilling effect on women being willing to come forward.

SMITH: Some have suggested compromises like allowing secrecy only around the dollar amount of the settlement or just the name of the alleged¹³ victim. But calls for more transparency in one form or another are building, as activists¹⁴ wage war, as they've put it, not only on sexual misconduct but also on the silence surrounding it. Tovia Smith, NPR News.

1 confidentiality   

n.秘而不宣，保密

参考例句：

• They signed a confidentiality agreement. 他们签署了一份保守机密的协议。
• Cryptography is the foundation of supporting authentication, integrality and confidentiality. 而密码学是支持认证、完整性和机密性机制的基础。

2 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

3 pacts   

条约( pact的名词复数 )； 协定； 公约

参考例句：

• Vassals can no longer accept one-sided defensive pacts (!). 附庸国不会接受单方面的共同防御协定。
• Well, they are EU members now and have formed solidarity pacts with members such as Poland. 他们现在已经是欧盟的一部分了并且他们和欧盟成员诸如波兰等以签署了合作协议。

4 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

5 egregious   

adj.非常的，过分的

参考例句：

• When it comes to blatant lies,there are none more egregious than budget figures.谈到公众谎言，没有比预算数字更令人震惊的。
• What an egregious example was here!现摆着一个多么触目惊心的例子啊。

6 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

7 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

10 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

11 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

12 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。

13 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

14 activists   

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》