一个TikTok手势，解救未成年少女 | 纽约时报

A girl reported missing from Asheville, N.C., and in distress in the passenger seat of a car traveling through Kentucky appeared to be waving through the window to passing cars on Thursday. But one person in a nearby car recognized the signal from TikTok, and knew it was no ordinary wave.

周四，一名据报在北卡罗来纳州阿什维尔失踪的女孩坐在一辆行驶在肯塔基州的汽车副驾上，神情显得很痛苦，她似乎在向过往的车辆挥手。然而，附近一辆车上的一个人认出那是在TikTok上看到过的手势，并且知道这个信号非同一般。

The girl, 16, was using a new distress signal, tucking her thumb into her palm before closing her fingers over it, according to the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office. The signal, created by the Canadian Women’s Foundation for people to indicate that they are at risk of abuse and need help, has spread largely through TikTok in the past year.

据劳雷尔县治安官办公室称，这名16岁的女孩使用的是一种新的求救信号——拇指贴在手掌上，然后其他手指弯曲包住拇指。这个由加拿大妇女基金会首创的手势，用于表明一个人有遭受虐待的风险并需要帮助。这个手势在过去一年中主要通过TikTok传播。

The person who spotted the signal called 911 and conveyed a suspicion that the girl was in trouble because she was using the hand gesture. Though the dispatcher and officers were unfamiliar with the signal, sheriff’s deputies pulled the car over to investigate, and learned that the girl’s parents had reported her missing two days earlier.

看到手势的人拨打了911并告诉接线员怀疑女孩遇到了麻烦，因为她正在做这个手势。虽然调度员和警官都不了解这个手势，但警官将车拦停进行调查，得知女孩的父母两天前已经报案她失踪的事。

Sheriff’s deputies arrested the driver, James Herbert Brick, 61, of Cherokee, N.C., and charged him with unlawful imprisonment. Mr. Brick, who the sheriff’s office said had pornographic images of a child on his phone, also faces a child pornography charge.

警官逮捕了61岁的驾车者、北卡罗来纳州切罗基市的詹姆斯·赫伯特·布里克，并指控他非法监禁。治安官办公室称，布里克的手机上有儿童色情图片，他还将面临儿童色情指控。

The girl and Mr. Brick are “acquaintances” but are not related, said Gilbert Acciardo, public affairs officer for the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office. The girl told investigators that she had traveled with Mr. Brick through North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio, where he had family. He left the family after they learned that the girl was a minor and that she had been reported missing by her family. She said she began trying to get motorists’ attention as they traveled south from Ohio.

劳雷尔县治安官办公室的公共事务官员吉尔伯特·阿恰尔多说，这个女孩和布里克“认识”，但没有亲缘关系。女孩告诉调查人员，她曾与布里克一起穿过北卡罗来纳州、田纳西州、肯塔基州和俄亥俄州，他在俄亥俄州有家人。在他的家人得知女孩是未成年人而且她的家人已报案她失踪后，他离开了家人。她说，当他们从俄亥俄州向南行驶时，她开始试图引起其他驾车者的注意。

It was not clear how many people saw the girl’s hand signal, Officer Acciardo said. When the deputies pulled the car over, the girl made the signal toward them, he said.

阿恰尔多说，目前尚不清楚有多少人看到了女孩的手势。他说，当警官们把车拦下来时，女孩向他们也做了手势。

“I don’t think any of us realized what that was,” he said. “But we certainly do now.”

“我认为我们之中没有人意识到了那是什么意思，”他说。“但我们现在肯定懂了。”

Investigators believe Mr. Brick thought she was simply waving at other cars and didn’t attempt to stop her, Officer Acciardo said. He praised the girl for using the gesture, which he said would be a useful tool for victims if it were universally known.

阿恰尔多说，调查人员认为，布里克以为她只是在向其他汽车挥手，并没有试图阻止她。他称赞女孩使用了这个手势，他说如果让更多人知道这个手势，这对受害者来说将是一个有用的工具。

“This is probably the best thing I’ve seen come along in the 48 years I’ve been a patrol officer,” he said.

他说：“这可能是我作为警官巡逻48年来见过的最好的东西。”

Millions of people have seen videos featuring the signal on TikTok and YouTube, while organizations including the World Bank and the Women’s Funding Network have promoted it since April 2020. It began as a Covid-era lifeline for women in abusive relationships, intended to be used on video calls as a signal that others should check in on them.

数百万人曾在TikTok和YouTube上看过关于这个手势的视频，包括世界银行和妇女基金会网络在内的组织自2020年4月以来一直在推广这个手势。在最开始，这个手势在新冠时代是处于虐待关系中的女性的生命线，人们在视频通话中做这个手势示意他人引起注意。