VOA标准英语2011--Philadelphia Cracks Down on Domestic Violence

Philadelphia Cracks Down on Domestic Violence

 

The Women Against Abuse shelter is the only refuge in Philadelphia for women escaping abusive relationships.

The building’s location is a secret - for safety reasons. Its clients, like Sheila Armstrong, are afraid for their lives after having to flee violent husbands or boyfriends.

“When he was beating me up, he picked up a vacuum cleaner, beating me with the vacuum cleaner," Armstrong says. "Waking up in the hospital, that is all I remember.”

Unfortunately, the situation Armstrong found herself in is not unique. Every year in the United States, about 1.3 million women are abused by their husbands or boyfriends, according the National Coalition¹ Against Domestic Violence

Armstrong woke with a broken arm, two black eyes and a swollen² lip. Without the Women Against Abuse shelter, Armstrong says she would have had nowhere to go.

“They do not call as their first option," shelter official Pamela Ellerman says. "They call us when they run out of options.”

Unfortunately, the facility can't help everyone who calls.

Every year in the United States, about 1.3 million women are abused by their husbands or boyfriends, according the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

The shelter has 100 beds, where women stay, often with their children, while looking for a permanent safe place. But the shelter is turning away more women than ever, 7,800 this year. Requests for help have increased since the economic recession began in 2008, even as state and local governments have cut funding for their services.

“We do not know what that means for the long-term," Ellerman says. "We are also well aware that what we are already providing is well inadequate³ to the need.”

To try to meet the need, Philadelphia Police Chief Charles Ramsey helped create a citywide program, partnering the shelter, the district attorney's office, and legal and advocacy groups in a coordinated⁴ effort to combat domestic violence. The police department rewrote the forms used to document domestic abuse to gather more details and data, and officers now follow up with victims.

“It is one of the most complicated crimes that we investigate, and the women's groups will tell you," Deputy Police Commissioner⁵ Patricia Giorgio-Fox says. "There is no easy answer to this.”

Giorgio-Fox says police receive thousands of calls a year from women, but making arrests is often difficult, usually due to a lack of evidence. Since the new partnership⁶ began this year, domestic-related arrests increased more than seven percent during the first six months of 2011.

But Fox says police still need help from those being abused. “We can offer as much advice and counseling and help and alternatives as possible. But until the victim decides it is time, it is very difficult to correct that kind of behavior.”

Sheila Armstrong, who is now on the board of Women Against Abuse, agrees. She says increasing public awareness⁷ about domestic violence is the best way to prevent abuse.

“I do not like the word ‘victims.’ Because most people want to look down and speak of you like a victim like you cannot handle yourself.”

Other U.S. cities are looking to Philadelphia’s approach as a model for reducing domestic violence. Meanwhile, advocates for survivors⁸ of domestic abuse are urging Congress to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, which expired at the end of September. During the past 15 years, the law has provided more than $4 billion for programs and legal help for survivors of domestic abuse.

1 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

2 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

3 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

4 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

6 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

7 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

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