VOA常速英语:终结美洲童婚

The United States, along with other governments, advocates, journalists, and girls, is sounding a rallying cry against early and forced marriage.
美国正与其他国家政府，倡议者，记者和女孩们一起，发出反对早婚和强迫婚姻的呼声。

That’s a call that is now sounding in the Western Hemisphere as well, said U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Catherine Russell. “This region,” she said, “is behind others around the world in tackling this issue.Parts of the Americas are seeing an increase, not a decline, in early and forced marriage.”
这种呼声如今也是西半球的心声，美国全球妇女问题特使凯瑟琳·罗素表示。她表示，“在处理这个问题时，这一地区往往落后于世界其他地区。美国一些地区早婚和强迫婚姻情况正在增加，而非减少。”

Research indicates that this phenomenon does not end on its own. Early and forced marriage can perpetuate poverty and keep girls and any children they have from getting the education they need to succeed. The good news is that the region has laws on the books that address early and forced marriage in many countries,which makes it easier to take the next step and respond to these issues.
研究表明，这种现象不会自行消亡。早婚和强迫婚姻可能导致贫穷长期存在，使女孩们和她们的后代无法获得成功所需的教育。好消息是，该地区许多国家已经有关于早婚和强迫婚姻的法律文件，这使得采取下一步措施和回应这些问题变得更容易。

Within the Western Hemisphere, the U.S. is working to get at some of the root causes by strengthening justice sectors, supporting survivors of gender-based violence, and raising awareness of women’s rights.The U.S. is working to increase access to education for girls and reaching out to people who have often been marginalized — including indigenous communities and people of African descent.
在西半球，美国正致力于解决一些根本问题，通过加强司法部门，帮助性别暴力幸存者以及提高妇女权利意识。美国正在努力增加女童接受教育的机会，并向那些经常被边缘化的人，包括土著社区和非洲后裔提供援助。

In Brazil, which has the most child brides in the region,the United States is working with UNICEF to give girls the support they need to reach their full potential.Through this program, adolescent girls are meeting mentors from different professions.They’re learning about entrepreneurship and innovation.
巴西是该地区拥有最多儿童新娘的国家，美国正在与联合国儿童基金会合作，向巴西女孩提供必要的支持，以充分发挥她们的潜力。通过这个计划，青少年女孩见到了来自不同专业的导师。她们正在学习创业和创新。

But more needs to be done."We’ve seen time and again that when women and girls do better, countries do better as well” said Ambassador Russell. "That means our broader shared goals for the Western Hemisphere—security, prosperity, and good governance —are deeply connected to the issues of child marriage and motherhood.”
但需要做的还有很多。“我们一再看到，当妇女和女孩生活得更好时，这个国家也会更好。”罗素大使说，“这意味着我们在西半球更广泛的共同目标——安全，繁荣和善政——与童婚和生育问题密切相关。

In other words, it’s in our interest for laws around early marriage to be respected and implemented. It’s in our interest for girls to get the education they need to earn money and eventually invest it in their own children’s health and education.
换言之，早婚有关法律的尊重和执行符合我们的利益。女孩接受教育也符合我们的利益，她们会有收入，并最终将收入投资在自己孩子的健康及教育中。

That’s why it’s critical, said Ambassador Russell, "that we answer the call to do better and do more to end early and forced marriage in the Americas.”
这就是它之所以至关重要的原因，罗素大使说，“我们响应呼吁，做出更多更好的努力结束美洲的早婚和强迫婚姻。”