五、弱势群体处境艰难
V. Vulnerable Groups Living in Difficulties
美国作为世界上最大的发达经济体，至今拒绝批准《经济、社会及文化权利国际公约》《儿童权利公约》《残疾人权利公约》等多项核心国际人权公约。政府不仅缺乏足够的政治意愿改善弱势群体的处境，反而不断削减相关资助项目。数千万儿童、老年人、残疾人衣食无着，面临暴力、欺凌、虐待和毒品的威胁，令人匪夷所思。
As the largest developed economy in the world, the United States has been refusing to ratify multiple key international human rights conventions, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The US government not only has insufficient political will to improve the conditions for vulnerable groups, but also keeps cutting relevant funding projects. Tens of millions of children, elder people, and disabled people live without enough food or clothing, and face threats of violence, bullying, abusing and drugs, which is beyond explanation.
儿童贫困问题触目惊心。《国会山报》网站2019年11月18日报道，尽管世界范围内的极端贫困人口数量已急剧下降，美国的儿童贫困人口比例却与30年前的水平大致相同。经济政策研究所发布的《2018年收入与贫困报告》显示，2018年美国18.4%的儿童生活在贫困中，13%的儿童生活在集中贫困地区。人口普查局的统计数据显示，截至2018年，美国仍有1280万名儿童生活在贫困之中，其中有四分之三是少数种族，少数种族儿童贫困率高达约25%，5岁以下的贫困儿童多达350万，其中160万生活在极端贫困中。佛罗里达州的儿童贫困率高达20.3%。加利福尼亚州有近120万儿童生活在低收入社区，他们更难进入优质公立学校，获得健康食品、医疗服务的机会也更少，长大后也更难摆脱贫困代际传递。美国儿童保护基金发布的报告评论称，“在全球最富有的国家，居然还有超过五分之一的儿童每天都不得不面对无比残酷的现实——下顿吃什么，今晚睡哪里？”
Child poverty is a shocking problem. The Hill reported on Nov 18, 2019 that while levels of extreme poverty worldwide had dropped dramatically, the poverty ratio of US children was about the same rate as 30 years ago. The Economic Policy Institute's 2018 Income and Poverty report showed that, nationwide, 18.4 percent of children lived in poverty, and 13 percent of children lived in areas of concentrated poverty. Data from the US Census Bureau showed that 12.8 million US children lived in poverty by 2018. Children of color made up nearly three-quarters of all poor children in 2018. Nearly one in four children of color in the United States was poor. A total of 3.5 million children under 5 were poor in 2018, with 1.6 million of those children living in extreme poverty. The overall child poverty rate was 20.3 percent in Florida. Nearly 1.2 million California children lived in low-income neighborhoods, who were less likely than those in more affluent areas to have access to quality public schools, healthy food and medical care, also making it harder for them to break out of the poverty cycle once they become adults. No child should have to worry where her next meal will come from or whether she will have a place to sleep each night in the wealthiest nation on Earth. Yet about one in five children in the United States lived in poverty and faced these harsh realities every day, said a report issued by the Children's Defense Fund.
儿童受虐问题令人震惊。美国卫生及公共服务部下属的儿童与家庭管理局2019年1月28日发布的《虐待儿童报告》显示，2017财年收到的虐待儿童报案共涉及350万儿童，比上期报告发布的2013财年增长10%；经调查确定为虐待受害者的儿童有约67.4万，比2013财年增长2.7%，其中1720名儿童死亡；受虐儿童中被身体虐待的占18.3%，被性虐待的占8.6%。印第安纳州是儿童受虐问题最严重的州，仅2016年7月1日至2017年6月30日该州就有65名儿童因受虐而死。哥伦比亚广播公司网站2019年8月6日报道，非营利组织“关爱儿童协会”发布的报告显示，美国每年接到报告的儿童性侵案件多达约6.5万起。
Child abuse is an alarming problem. The US Administration for Children and Families, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, on Jan 28, 2019 published the report of Child Maltreatment 2017, showing that approximately 3.5 million children were involved in the child victim reports, increasing by approximately 10 percent from 2013 to 2017. Investigations found about 674,000 victims of child abuse and neglect, 2.7 percent higher than that in 2013. A national estimate of 1,720 children died from abuse and neglect. According to the data, 18.3 percent were physically abused, and 8.6 percent were sexually abused. Indiana had the worst child abuse problems, with as many as 65 children dying due to abuse and/or neglect from July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2017. CBS News reported on Aug 6, 2019 that about 65,000 cases of child sex abuse were reported annually, according to non-profit organization American Society for the Positive Care of Children.
校园安全环境不断恶化。美国国家教育统计中心2019年4月发布的数据显示，2017年美国12岁至18岁的学生中，有82.7万次在校受侵害经历和50.38万次校外受侵害经历。网络欺凌事件在全国范围内呈上升趋势，女孩在网上或短信中受到骚扰的人数是男孩的3倍。路易斯安那州是美国校园欺凌问题最严重的州，每4个人中就有1人遭受过欺凌。校园内的枪击事件此起彼伏。美国有线电视新闻网2019年11月19日报道指出，美国2019年的前46周就发生了45起校园枪击事件，几乎每星期1起。
Campus safety conditions keep worsening. According to data released by the National Center for Education Statistics in April 2019, in 2017, among students ages 12-18, there were about 827,000 total victimizations at school and 503,800 victimizations away from school. There was a rise in cyberbullying nationwide, with three times as many girls reporting being harassed online or by text message than boys. Louisiana led the United States in incidents of bullying with nearly one in four students reporting being bullied. School shootings took place time and again. CNN reported on Nov 19, 2019 that there had been 45 school shootings in the first 46 weeks of 2019, with nearly an average of one school shooting a week.
老年人贫困问题越来越严重。《市场观察》网站2019年5月19日报道，非营利组织“美国食物供给”的研究显示，2017年，美国60岁以上的老年人中，每12人中就有1人缺乏足够的食物，总人数达到550万。新墨西哥州、路易斯安那州、密西西比州是问题最严重的地方，超过10%的老年人受到饥饿威胁的影响。新学院大学施瓦茨经济政策分析中心的一项研究显示，到65岁时，约40%的美国中产阶级将接近或陷入贫困。英国《卫报》网站2019年5月24日报道，美国的社会保障不足以使数量惊人的老年人免于贫困。在正处于工作年龄段的人中，62%的非洲裔美国人和69%的拉美裔美国人没有退休储蓄金。这意味着他们到了退休年龄几乎完全依赖社会保障。
Poverty of the elderly becomes worse. MarketWatch reported on May 19, 2019 that, according to research by Feeding America, a nonprofit organization, an alarming one in 12 seniors aged 60 and older — 5.5 million people — did not have enough food in 2017. New Mexico, Louisiana and Mississippi were the three states with the highest number of seniors — more than 10 percent of the state's senior population affected by the hunger crisis. About 40 percent of middle-class Americans would live close to or in poverty by the time they reach age 65, according to a study by the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at the New School. The Guardian reported on May 24, 2019 that social security was, in the end, insufficient to protect a surprisingly large number of older Americans from poverty. Of those who were still at working ages, 62 percent of African Americans and 69 percent of Latinos had no retirement savings, which meant that they were almost entirely reliant on social security after retirement.
老年人难以承受高额医疗支出。《健康事务》杂志2019年发布的一项全国性调查显示，53%身患重病的受访者称尽管他们享有联邦医保，在支付医药费时还是遇到了严重困难。非营利机构凯泽家庭基金会指出，长期护理支出是美国老年人医疗花费的大头，而这部分费用不在联邦医保覆盖范围之内。其中，阿尔茨海默病、帕金森病等疾病的长期护理支出最为昂贵。
Medical expenses are too high for the elder to afford. According to a nationwide survey published by Health Affairs in 2019, 53 percent of respondents with severe illnesses were faced with serious problems when dealing with medical bills even they were Medicare beneficiaries. The Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit organization, said US elder people spent the most on long-term care facility services, which were not covered by Medicare. Among them, people with Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease spent the most on long-term care services.
养老服务昂贵且问题丛生。《旧金山纪事报》网站2019年10月19日报道，美国的养老服务极其昂贵。除非老年人享有医疗补助，否则照顾老年人的费用会使一个家庭陷入贫困。例如，在纽约州奥尔巴尼县的养老院，无法获得政府医疗补助的老人每天的费用支出高达约400美元。联邦参议院2019年发布的一份报告显示，美国有近400家养老院存在着严重而持续的健康护理、安全保障和卫生环境问题，但联邦政府多年来始终没有披露这些养老院的名单，使这些问题持续存在并难以改善。
Elderly care services are expensive and fraught with problems. SFGATE reported on Oct 19, 2019 that the cost of care for the elderly in the United States was too high. The cost could put a family into the poor house unless the elderly person qualifies for Medicaid. For example, nursing homes in Albany County cost around $400 a day on average if the elderly person doesn't qualify for Medicaid. Nearly 400 facilities in the United States had serious ongoing health, safety or sanitary problems, according to a Senate report in 2019. But the federal government for years had kept under wraps their names, which made the problems left unsolved and hard to fix.
老年人受虐待和自杀现象令人震惊。医疗新闻网2019年6月14日报道，美国16%的老年人是某种虐待的受害者，包括财务剥削、疏于照顾、身体虐待、心理虐待、性虐待等。每年因暴力虐待导致老年人受伤所产生的医疗费用超过53亿美元。全国疾病控制与预防中心的数据显示，2017年美国有超过8500名65岁以上的老年人自杀。由于老年人精神更孤独、身体更虚弱、生活更孤立，老年人的自杀成功率高达25%，是年轻人的50倍。
Elderly abuse and suicide rates are shocking. Medical Xpress reported on June 14, 2019 that about 16 percent of older adults were victims of some form of mistreatment, including financial exploitation, neglect, physical abuse, psychological abuse and sexual abuse. More than $5.3 billion was spent annually on medical care related to injuries incurred by older adults as a result of violent crime. More than 8,500 people aged 65 or above committed suicide in the United States in 2017, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Due to the fact that seniors were lonelier, frailer and more isolated, one out of four senior citizens that attempted suicide died, 50 times the possibility for younger people.
残疾人就业受到严重歧视。美国进步中心网站2019年7月26日报道，美国残疾人的贫困率几乎是正常人的2倍。每4名残疾人中就有1人在就业和获得收入方面面临重重困难，对残疾人的歧视与偏见广泛存在。美国全国广播公司网站2019年8月9日报道，平等就业机会委员会发布的数据显示，残疾人职工被解雇的比率几乎是非残疾人的两倍。2017年，联邦政府共解雇了2626名全职残疾员工，比2016年增长24%。美国劳工统计局2019年发布的就业报告显示，2019年3月美国工作年龄残疾人就业人口比例同比下降了1.9%。
Disabled people face severe discrimination when finding jobs. The Center for American Progress reported on July 26, 2019 that disabled adults experienced poverty at nearly twice the rate of their nondisabled counterparts. One in four Americans with disabilities faced unique challenges in securing gainful employment and establishing financial security. Widespread ableism and stereotypes against disable people persisted. NBC News reported on Aug 9, 2019 that, according to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission federal workforce data, workers with disabilities were fired at almost two times the rate of those without disabilities. The government fired 2,626 disabled employees in 2017, a 24 percent increase over 2016. A report released in 2019 by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the employment-to-population ratio for working-age people with disabilities decreased by 1.9 percent year-on-year.
政府助残项目可及性不足。美国政府通过缩小残疾定义的外延，对医疗补助和营养援助等政府项目的覆盖人群加以限制。一些助残项目残疾人等待时间过长，动辄数年。《芝加哥论坛报》网站2019年12月3日报道，伊利诺伊州一个为残疾人提供家庭护理、职业培训和其他服务的助残项目，已有近2万残疾人在排队等待，平均等待时间长达7年。《今日美国报》网站2019年9月16日报道，凯泽家庭基金会报告说，美国有600多万身心残疾的儿童依赖政府提供的医疗保健，但由于项目设计存在缺陷，导致他们难以得到及时有效的治疗。
The accessibility of government projects to help the disabled is not enough. The government was narrowly crafting specialized definitions of disability to restrict access to critical support programs such as Medicaid and nutrition assistance. Some projects to help the disabled kept them waiting for too long, even for years. Chicago Tribune reported on Dec 3, 2019 that nearly 20,000 people with developmental disabilities in Illinois were on a waiting list for disabilities services including home care and job coaches, among services. Most waited an average of seven years before they are selected. USA Today reported on Sept 16, 2019 that, according to the Kaiser Foundation, more than 6 million kids with physical and mental disabilities relied on government health care, but these programs were so poorly designed that it made it harder for their recipients to get good, timely care.
无障碍环境建设不力。《洛杉矶时报》网站2019年4月1日报道，由于政府监管不力，洛杉矶政府资助的廉价住房项目建成后，轮椅使用者无法顺利进入厨房、浴室、阳台和其他生活空间，水槽、厨房柜台等设施也没有考虑到残疾人的需求，这不符合联邦建筑标准和《美国残疾人法》的要求。《国家法律评论》网站2019年8月2日报道，2019年上半年，针对公共服务网站不能为残疾人提供无障碍服务的诉讼激增。《财富》杂志网站2019年9月21日报道，2019年1月，帕克伍德娱乐公司遭到集体起诉，该公司网站被指控违反《美国残疾人法》未能向有严重视力障碍的人提供便利，导致约200万盲人和其他有视力障碍的人无法访问其网站。
Barrier-free environment is under poor construction. Los Angeles Times reported on April 1, 2019 that, due to the government's poor oversight, a project to build low-income apartments with federal funds of Los Angeles failed to allow wheelchair users have safe access to kitchens, bathrooms, balconies and other living spaces. Sinks and kitchen counters were also unusable for wheelchair users, which did not comply with federal housing requirements and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The National Law Review on Aug 2, 2019 reported that, in the first half of 2019, website accessibility cases had significantly increased, where plaintiffs with disabilities alleged that they could not access websites. Fortune reported on Sept 21, 2019 that, in January 2019, Parkwood Entertainment became the defendant in a class-action lawsuit alleging that it violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and failed to provide accommodation for people with significant vision impairments, leaving an estimated 2 million blind people and others with vision impairments unable to access the website.
