VOA标准英语2013--刚果性暴力事件骤增

 

DRC Sexual Violence Sharply Risesc 刚果性暴力事件骤增

The U.N. refugee agency says there’s been an alarming rise in sexual violence in the DRC’s North Kivu Province. Fighting between government forces and two rebel groups has displaced thousands of civilians¹, leaving them vulnerable to attack.

North Kivu Province is practically synonymous with sexual violence. While the names of the armed groups may have changed over the many years of conflict, brutal² sexual attacks on women, girls, men and boys have remained constant.

UNHCR’s Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba said the attacks have risen sharply in the first half of the year.

“When we look at the number of sexual violence cases reported to our staff for the first half of this year it’s 705 cases -- and this includes 619 rape³ cases -- compared to last year for the same period where we had 108 registered cases and this includes males. We are worried that the current fighting will increase the danger for the women in the region. A lot of the times the number of rape cases increases with the level of violence.”

These are just the cases recorded by UNHCR teams. Most of the sexual violence is committed by members of armed groups.

“These are militiamen. Some of them are from the Congolese army itself. What these civilians, who suffer from these sexual assaults, tell us is that different armed groups blame them for siding with the enemy. And sometimes it’s just a matter of perception of what they call siding with the enemy. And as a result they are punished by being raped,” she said.

It is in this way that rape has become a weapon of war.

Last year, the U.N. reported more than 7,000 cases of sexual violence in North Kivu Province, up from about near 4,700 cases in 2011. Lejeune-Kaba says it’s difficult to say, right now, whether this year’s figures will be even higher.

“We have other partners that are also collecting data on rape cases, so we think that there will be many, many more. How many more is hard to say for now because we don’t have data for the whole of 2013, so far,” she said.

The Congolese army is battling the M23 rebels near the provincial⁴ capital of Goma, and the ADF rebels around Kamango, which is near the Ugandan border. The Ugandan government says the ADF has ties to al Qaeda. M23 rebels are mostly Tutsi. A U.N. report leaked late last year said the rebels had the backing of both Rwanda and Uganda. Both countries deny it.

Since July 14th, up to 7,000 people have been displaced around Goma due to fighting and another 14,000 have been displaced this month in the Kamango area. In all, there are nearly one-million displaced people in the DRC’s North Kivu province from years of conflict.

1 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

2 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

3 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。

4 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。