With isolation, domestic abuse activists fear ‘explosive cocktail’

“Safer at Home.” It’s a slogan of choice for the mandatory ( ) confinement ( ) measures aimed at curbing ( ) the spread of the coronavirus. But it’s not true for everyone.

As the world’s families hunker ( ) down, there’s another danger, less obvious but just as insidious ( ), that worries advocates ( ) and officials: a potential spike ( ) in domestic violence ( ) as victims spend day and night trapped at home with their abusers, with tensions ( ) rising, nowhere ( ) to escape, limited or no access ( ) to friends or relatives — and no idea when it will end.

“An abuser will use anything in their toolbox to exert ( ) their power and control, and COVID-19 is one of those tools,” said Crystal Justice, who oversees ( ) development at the National Domestic Violence Hotline, a 24/7 national hotline in the United States. In cities and towns everywhere, concern is high, and meaningful numbers are hard to come by ( ). In some cases, officials worry about a spike in calls, and in others, about a drop in calls, which might indicate that victims cannot find a safe way to reach out for help.

In Los Angeles, officials have been bracing ( ) for a spike in abuse. “When cabin fever ( ) sets in, give it a week or two, people get tired of seeing each other and then you might have domestic violence,” said Alex Villanueva, the sheriff ( )of Los Angeles County.

“One of the key challenges of this health pandemic is that home isn’t a safe place for everyone,” said Amanda Pyron, executive director of The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence, based in Chicago. “Victims and the abusers have to stay at the scene of the crime.”

Similar concerns have arisen in hard-hit ( ) continental Europe. In France, “it’s an explosive cocktail,” says Nathalie Tomasini, a leading lawyer for domestic violence victims there. Being trapped in an apartment with an abusive partner, she said, is akin to ( ) “a prison with no open window.”

In addition to intimate partner violence, concerns have also been raised about child abuse. In jurisdictions ( ) everywhere, the chief worry is not only that coronavirus tensions could trigger more abuse, but that with kids out of school, more cases could go unreported or unnoticed.

“If kids are not at school, those reports aren’t getting made,” said Jessica Seitz, public policy director for the advocacy group Missouri Kids First. “That’s really a crack ( ) in the system.”

Without educators ( ) in place, “We really need neighbors to check on next-door children and children in the neighborhood,” said Tom Rawlings, director of Georgia state’s Division of Family and Children Services.

Back at the National Domestic Violence Hotline, which is based in Austin, Texas but has staff working remotely now, advocates are urging people in potentially risky situations to use the more discreet ( ) chat and text options available on their website, and to formulate ( ) a personal safety plan. This could include setting up a standing call with relatives or establishing a code phrase to signal an emergency.

因疫情封城禁足 反促長家暴危機

為遏止冠狀病毒傳播而頒布的禁足令，選用「Safer at Home」（待在家更安全）作為口號，以強制民眾待在家。然而，待在家裡並非對每個人來說都會更安全。

當全世界的家庭都蟄居屋內，有識之士及官員也擔憂會有另一種危險（雖不像病毒的威脅顯而易見，卻也是同樣險惡）：受害者與施虐者每天從早到晚一同困在家中，可能會使家庭暴力事件激增──由於對峙情況加劇、無處可逃、與親朋好友缺乏往來，也不知道這一切何時會結束。

「施暴者利用所能掌握的任何工具來施加權力及控制，武漢肺炎便是其中一種工具」，「全國家暴熱線」主管克莉絲多‧賈斯提斯表示。該熱線為二十四小時全年無休的全美服務。各地的城鎮都非常關注此問題，但卻很難獲得有意義的數字。在某些情況，官員擔心求助電話數目激增；其他時候，則擔心電話數量減少，因為這可能表示受害者找不到安全的方式來尋求幫助。

在洛杉磯，政府一直在為施暴案的激增做準備。洛杉磯郡警長艾利克斯‧維拉紐瓦表示：「〔禁足〕大約一兩個星期後幽閉煩躁症發作，人們會對彼此感到厭倦，然後家庭暴力便可能會發生」。

「這種大流行病的主要挑戰之一是，家裡並非對每個人來說都是安全的地方」，芝加哥「網絡：反家暴倡議」（The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence）的執行董事阿曼達‧派蓉說道。「受害者與施暴者只能待在犯罪現場」。

受疫情重創的歐洲大陸也有類似問題引起關切。法國為家暴受害者辯護的名律師納塔莉‧托馬西尼表示，在法國，「這樣的混居是容易引爆的」。她說，跟有施暴傾向的伴侶一起困在公寓裡，就像是身處在「沒有窗戶的監獄」。

除了親密伴侶的暴力，虐待兒童問題也引發關注。各地的司法機關主要的擔憂的，不僅是冠狀病毒之緊張情勢可能引發更多的虐童事件，而是孩子不上學，可能會讓更多案件沒被通報或未被察覺。

倡議團體「密蘇里州兒童優先組織」（Missouri Kids First）的公共政策主任潔西卡‧塞茲表示：「如果孩子們不在學校，這些案件就不會被通報」。「這真是系統的漏洞」。

喬治亞州家庭與兒童服務處主管湯姆‧洛林斯表示，沒有教育工作者在崗位上，「我們真的需要鄰居來查看隔壁和附近的孩子」。

上述全國家暴熱線之辦公室設於德州奧斯汀市，但其人員目前是以遠距方式工作。該熱線呼籲身處此風險境地的人在聊天及傳簡訊時使用更秘密的網站選項，並擬定人身安全計畫。這可包括設定聯繫親戚的常備電話，或建立通關密語來表示緊急狀況。

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The World Wants Air-Conditioning. That Could Warm the World.
全世界都想開空調，卻因此陷入暖化危機

More than crickets and fireflies, more than baseball and cookouts, perhaps nothing signals the arrival of summer in the United States like the soft familiar whir of air-conditioning.
不只是蟋蟀和螢火蟲，不只是棒球和露天燒烤，在美國，或許沒有什麼能比空調溫柔而熟悉的聲響更能標誌著夏天的到來。

But there is growing concern that as other countries adopt America’s love of air-conditioners, the electricity used to power them will overburden electrical grids and increase planet-warming emissions.
但隨著其他國家和美國一樣愛上空調，人們就越擔心空調的供電會使電網超過負荷，並增加導致全球暖化的排放。

The number of air-conditioners worldwide is predicted to soar from 1.6 billion units today to 5.6 billion units by midcentury, according to a report issued Tuesday by the International Energy Agency. If left unchecked, by 2050 air-conditioners would use as much electricity as China does for all activities today.
根據國際能源署(International Energy Agency)週二發表的報告，到本世紀中期，全球的空調數量預計會從今天的16億台飆升至56億台。如果不加管束，2050年時光是空調的耗電量將相當於中國今天所有活動的耗電量。

Greenhouse gas emissions released by coal and natural gas plants when generating electricity to power those air-conditioners would nearly double, from 1.25 billion tons in 2016 to 2.28 billion tons in 2050, the report says. Those emissions would contribute to global warming, which could further heighten the demand for air-conditioning.
報告指出，到2050年，給空調機供電的燃煤和天然氣發電廠排放的溫室氣體將接近翻倍，從2016年的12.5億噸增長至22.8億噸。這些排放將導致全球暖化，可能進一步提高人們對空調的需求。

Right now air-conditioning is concentrated in a handful of countries, mainly in the United States and Japan, and increasingly in China.
目前，空調的使用集中在少數幾個國家，主要是美國和日本，中國也在逐漸增多。

While 90 percent of American households have air-conditioning, “When we look in fact at the hot countries in the world, in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, where about 2.8 billion people live, only about 8 percent of the population owns an air-conditioner,” said Fatih Birol, executive director of the energy agency.
美國有90%的家庭擁有空調，但是，「當我們實際去看看世界上較熱的國家，在大約有28億人居住的非洲、亞洲、拉丁美洲和中東地區之中，只有8%的人有空調，」國際能源署署長Fatih Birol說。

As incomes in those countries rise, however, more people are installing air-conditioners in their homes. The energy agency predicts much of the growth in air-conditioning will occur in India, China and Indonesia.
然而，隨著這些國家收入提高，越來越多的人正在家裡安裝空調。能源署預計，空調的增長大部分會出現在印度、中國和印尼。

Some of the spread is simply being driven by a desire for comfort in parts of the world that have always been hot. But other factors are at play.
在世界上一些向來很熱的地區，空調的普及僅僅是因為人們渴望獲得舒適。但也有其他因素的作用。

For example, as household wealth increases, so does the presence of household appliances like refrigerators and televisions, the report notes. These appliances generate heat, making homes warmer.
比如，報告指出，隨著家庭財富的增長，冰箱和電視等家用電器也越來越多。這些電器會產生熱量，使屋內更熱。

And because air-conditioners work in part by venting hot air outside, they also make the surrounding neighborhood warmer. By some estimates air-conditioning can raise overnight temperatures by about two degrees Fahrenheit (one degree Celsius) in some cities, the report said. Practically speaking, if enough of your neighbors buy an air-conditioner it may increase the temperature in your home enough to drive you to do the same.
而且，由於空調的運行部分是通過向室外排出熱氣，所以它們也會使周圍的環境更熱。報告稱，據預計，空調將使某些城市的夜間氣溫提高大約攝氏一度。實際上，如果你有足夠多的鄰居買了空調，那麼你家的溫度可能也會升高，從而促使你也買空調。

And then, of course, there’s climate change. India is already one degree Fahrenheit warmer on average than it was a century ago. This has led to more “cooling degree days,” or days when average temperatures are warm enough to necessitate air-conditioning.
當然了，還有氣候變化。印度的平均氣溫已比一個世紀以前高了一華氏度。這就導致「冷卻度日」變得更多，也就是平均溫度已經熱到必須使用空調的日子。

下段待續~~

#高雄人 #學習英文 請找 #多益達人林立英文
#高中英文
#成人英文
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#商用英文

州警大人 你友善的好鄰居
Your Friendly Neighborhood Mr. Trooper

晚間十一點，州寶好不容易睡熟，克萊兒正準備上床補眠。「叮咚叮咚」門鈴伴隨一陣急促的敲門聲。州警大人迅速抓了件長褲下樓應門，站在門外的是一對神色焦慮的夫妻。

「你是州警嗎？」焦急的夫妻劈頭就問。
「對，你們沒事吧？」
「我們的女兒不見了，下午她跟朋友出去玩就沒回家。我們已經找了好幾個小時。聽鄰居說，這裡住了個州警會願意幫我們，你可以幫我們嗎？」

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州警大人回房間，拿了手機和記事本，又咚咚咚跑下樓。州警大人先連絡上失蹤女孩的朋友，發現原來小女孩因為不喜歡媽媽的新老公，早就有逃家的打算。州警大人接著聯絡這區的警方，請警局派人協尋，他自己則在社區巡了幾次，一直等到警方接手才回家。

州警大人回房後，直接撲倒在床上。克萊兒笑著說：「你果真聲名遠播，大家都知道這裡有個好心的州警。」

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大部分州警碰到相同的情況，都會直接表明自己下班了，請他們自行報警。克萊兒還記得，去年州警局聖誕派對，有位州警剛好講到他鄰居車被偷，上門請他幫忙處理，這位州警只冷冷地看著鄰居問道：「你要我幫你打 911 報警嗎？」

不過呢，我們的州警大人怎麼可能這麼狠心？只要有鄰居需要幫忙，州警大人還真沒拒絕過。居家用的槍不見啦、疑似家暴啦、疑似虐童啦，州警大人有求必應。

克萊兒怕他身體吃不消（他不到三個月前才肺炎康復），建議他請鄰居報警，他還義憤填膺地說：「我知道這不是我的工作，但我總是會想，如果有一天你和州寶需要幫助，但沒有人要幫你，那怎麼辦？你記得警校結業的那天嗎？宣誓要保護並服務華盛頓州人民的那一刻，我可是認真的。」（他講著些話的時候，背景是不是該有美國國旗飄揚？）

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這個世界的確需要多一點像州警大人這麼有正義感的警察！同樣的狀況，如果你是警察，會願意犧牲下班時間幫忙？還是請他們自行報警呢？

【州警夫人FUN英文】
Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you.
以身作則，讓你的孩子每當想到公正、有愛心、正直這些特質的時候，就會想到你。
H. Jackson Brown, Jr. 傑克生．布朗