Three Ways to Stop the Harvey Weinsteins in the World

There's no simple formula to prevent sexual violence and stop sexual predators but research shows there are powerful ways to begin to slow it.

Dr. John Foubert has dedicated his career to fighting sexual violence, writing curriculum on rape prevention and books on sexual assault and pornography.

Developing empathy, he says, is key to ending sexual exploitation because when someone has no empathy, it's easier for them to objectify another person.

"The less you feel someone's a human being the more likely you are to hurt them," says Foubert. Research shows the converse is true. "The more that you care about people, both in general and specifically, the less likely you are to hurt them," says Foubert.

Empathy can also motivate bystanders to intervene and prevent an assault or to speak up after one takes place, says Foubert.

Pornography is another factor that can help drive predators like Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, who faces scores of sexual harassment and sexual assault accusations after a New York Times investigative piece came out earlier this month.

Foubert says it's not a one-to-one relationship--not everyone who views pornography goes out and commits violent acts--but there's a definite link.

More than 50 studies show a relationship between pornography and sexual violence. "The odds that all 50 of those that have found the same thing are wrong is 1 in 88 decillion," says Foubert, "so we're pretty darn sure that porn and sexual violence go hand in hand and largely, that's because porn tends to be a script for sexual violence."

Watching pornography, he says, is like a training manual that teaches violence as well as indirectly giving the viewer permission to commit similar acts.

Foubert says that churches and ministries have an important role to play in leading the cultural conversation on these issues and stopping predators because of the influence that they carry with their members.

"I think the church should be teaching consent to pre-teens and teens," says Foubert, "not consent for sexual intercourse of course--that would be against God's law--but consent for something like holding someone's hand. You don't just reach over and grab it when you feel like it. You ask them 'is it ok if I hold your hand?' and I think that can teach consent from a very young age and in a healthy way."

Foubert says churches should also encourage anti-pornography education, as early as age 5. It shouldn't be explicit he says but age-appropriate. Don't use the word "pornography" with five-year-olds says Foubert. Instead, "talk about not looking at pictures of people when they don't have their clothes on," he advises.