The Financial Times revealed earlier this week that many hostesses who were sexually harassed and propositioned at London’s Dorchester hotel last week were asked to sign a five-page non-disclosure agreement about the all-male event. They were not given a chance to read its contents, or take a copy with them after signing. 英國《金融時(shí)報(bào)》本周早些時(shí)候披露,上周在倫敦多切斯特酒店(The Dorchester)遭到性騷擾和求歡的女招待,被要求就此次只有男性參加的晚宴簽署了一份5頁的保密協(xié)議。她們沒機(jī)會閱讀該協(xié)議的內(nèi)容,在簽字后也沒拿到復(fù)印件。
NDAs have been roundly criticised for being used by the wealthy and powerful to silence victims of sexual harassment. Many of the women who spoke out about sexual harassment by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein signed the legally-binding agreements. 保密協(xié)議遭到了嚴(yán)厲批評,因?yàn)樗鼈儽粰?quán)貴人士用來讓性騷擾受害者保持沉默。很多說出遭到好萊塢制片人哈維•韋恩斯坦(Harvey Weinstein)性騷擾經(jīng)歷的女性都簽署過此類具有法律約束力的協(xié)議。
A spokesman for Theresa May, the UK prime minister, said on Thursday: “Questions have been raised about the operation of NDAs. 英國首相特里薩•梅(Theresa May)的發(fā)言人周四表示:“保密協(xié)議的操作已經(jīng)引發(fā)了疑問。”
“The prime minister will look into the way these non-disclosure agreements are applied to see if changes are required.” “首相將過問這些保密協(xié)議的應(yīng)用方式,看看是否需要修改。”
The spokesperson added that any woman who feels she has been sexually harassed in the workplace should report it to the police. 該發(fā)言人補(bǔ)充稱,認(rèn)為自己在工作場所受到性騷擾的女性都應(yīng)該向警方報(bào)案。
Jeremy Wright, the UK government’s chief legal adviser, also said that any victims of sexual assault “should feel able to come forward [and] be taken seriously and the investigation should be rigorous”. 英國政府首席法律顧問杰里米•賴特(Jeremy Wright)也表示,性騷擾的受害人“應(yīng)該覺得自己能夠站出來,并受到認(rèn)真對待,相關(guān)調(diào)查應(yīng)該是嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)?shù)?rdquo;。
Mr Wright, who as attorney-general oversees the Crown Prosecution Service, said he was “shocked” by the revelations surrounding the Presidents Club. 身為總檢察長的賴特負(fù)責(zé)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)皇家檢控署(CPS)。他表示,對有關(guān)總裁俱樂部事件的曝光感到“震驚”。
“What happened on that particular evening was unacceptable,” he said. “From what I’ve heard described it’s quite possible that criminal offences were committed.” “那天晚上發(fā)生的事情是不可接受的,”他說,“據(jù)我所了解的情況,很有可能發(fā)生了犯罪行為。”
Asked if NDAs were being abused in sexual harassment cases, he said: “Those who were victims should feel able to come forward, report what happened and if a crime was committed it should be investigated and if necessary prosecuted.” 在被問及保密協(xié)議是否在性騷擾案件中被濫用時(shí),他說:“那些受害者應(yīng)該覺得自己能夠站出來,報(bào)告發(fā)生了什么,如果有犯罪行為,就應(yīng)該展開調(diào)查,如果有必要,還會提起公訴。”
Mrs May told Bloomberg News on Thursday that she was “appalled” to read the FT’s report of the annual charity dinner. 梅在周四對彭博新聞(Bloomberg News)表示,她對英國《金融時(shí)報(bào)》有關(guān)年度慈善晚宴的報(bào)道感到“驚駭”。
“I was frankly appalled when I read the report of this Presidents Club event,” Mrs May said. “I thought that sort of attitude of the objectification of women was something that was in the past. Sadly, what that event showed is that there is still a lot more work for us to do.” “當(dāng)我讀到總裁俱樂部這起事件的報(bào)道時(shí),坦率地說我感到驚駭,”梅說,“我以為那種把女性物化的態(tài)度已是過去時(shí)。遺憾的是,這起事件表明我們還有很多工作要做。”
“I will continue to work, as I have done in my time in politics, to a point where we really can say women are respected and accepted and treated as equals,” she added. “我將繼續(xù)努力,就像我在政治生涯中所做的那樣,直至我們真正可以說女性受到尊重、接受和平等對待,”她接著說。
“Sadly, what we saw from this Presidents Club is this is about attitudes. It’s about saying that actually women are not objects just to be used by men. Actually we are equals, we have our own position, our own abilities and that should be respected.” “遺憾的是,我們從總裁俱樂部看到的情況歸根結(jié)底在于態(tài)度。關(guān)鍵在于,我們要說婦女實(shí)際上并非僅供男人使用的物品。實(shí)際上我們是平等的,我們有自己的立場、自己的能力,這些應(yīng)該受到尊重。”
Mrs May is facing growing pressure to refer Nadhim Zahawi, the newly appointed minister for children and families, to the government’s ethics watchdog after it emerged that he attended the Presidents Club dinner. 梅受到越來越大的壓力,要求她把新任命的兒童及家庭事務(wù)部長納齊姆•扎哈維(Nadhim Zahawi)移交給政府的道德監(jiān)察機(jī)構(gòu)接受調(diào)查,因?yàn)橛袌?bào)道稱,他出席了上述總裁俱樂部晚宴。
Jess Phillips, a Labour MP, called on the government to hold an “inquiry in to the issue”. 譯者/何黎