Building empathy helps prevent sexual violence.
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Sexual violence is 100 percent preventable—and everyone can play a role in that prevention.
Empathy and concern for how one’s actions affect others is an important protective factor against sexual violence — that is, something that makes sexual violence less likely to happen. Empathy means understanding and being able to relate to another person’s feelings or experiences. When we practice empathy, we try to see things from another person’s point of view and imagine how they’re feeling. Empathetic people care about how their own actions affect others.
