by Claire Wintersheimer, Program Intern
Storytelling has long been a popular form of entertainment, but it has a larger impact than simply pleasure. Storytelling can act as a tool to teach empathy and model behaviors, which can be used to help prevent sexual assault. Long before written stories were available, oral traditions throughout cultures taught about the past, the reasons why things are, and how they should be. They were an important tool for teaching young children how to behave, and as technology has grown, the influence of stories has not faded. In fact, the increased accessibility of them has made them more powerful.
According to Harvard professor Steven Pinker, historically, the invention of the Gutenberg Press contributed to rising literacy rates and the accessibility and popularization of novels in the Enlightenment era. Those novels typically detailed everyday life, allowing readers to intimately see into another person’s perspective in a manner not done before. In turn, this expanded empathy greatly, mostly seen through reforms limiting cruel and tortuous punishments, and a decrease in violence. Those novels had such a profound impact on empathy that the invention of the printing press and rise of popular fiction is regarded as a reason for the humanitarian reforms and falls of violence during the Enlightenment (Better Angels of Our Nature, 2012).
One of the reasons stories expand empathy is because they humanize people. When reading, listening, or watching a story, the audience is put in a position where they are able to care for and relate to the character. Stories are powerful because they take an experience or identity unknown or unfamiliar to others and share a new perspective which helps audiences connect to the characters. Consequently, audiences can then feel connected to real people facing situations similar to the characters in the stories.
Stories can be used as a prevention tool because they can encourage people to care for one another and help shape perspectives. A study conducted by Bal and Weltkampt (2013), found that empathic skills grew significantly after only a week of reading fictional stories by authors Arthur Conan Doyle or José Saramago. A separate study by Grazia Lo Cricchio et al. (2022) found increased levels of empathy were linked to lower levels of aggression in people. There is evidence that stories create higher levels of empathy, which can reduce aggression, and in turn reduce violent crime, making it a method of prevention worth exploring.
Another impact stories have on prevention is modeling behaviors and creating expectations for interactions. This can apply to stories and sexual assault prevention. According to Maryland policy, “‘Consent” means the clear and voluntary agreement by an individual to engage in vaginal intercourse, a sexual act, or sexual contact” (§3–301.1). Maryland’s definition of consent paired with the stories of how individuals give and receive consent creates a space for stories in sexual assault prevention work. Many people learn about sexual situations and consent from television shows, movies, and books, turning to stories about sexual situations for guidance. However, most mainstream media depictions skip over or minimize the “clear and voluntary agreement” before sexual acts occur.
This can create a difference between consent in policy and consent in practice, as it doesn’t teach mass audiences to ask for or give a “clear and voluntary agreement.” It highlights a space where stories are needed to prevent assault through demonstrations of consent. We can, and should, use stories to amplify what consent looks like, teaching people how to give and receive it, as well as deny it. Stories can bridge this gap in an accessible, effective way, if they are depicting consent and not breezing past it.
Ultimately, stories can reach and positively influence people in ways that other forms of information are unable to do. A statement can be forgotten quickly, but a story lingers in people’s minds. This encourages empathy to grow, which reduces aggression, preventing crime. Stories have always shaped our society and have directly shaped humanity. It is crucial we understand the weight and impact of stories and make use of their power as a prevention tool in modern times.
References:
Grazia Lo Cricchio, Maria, et al., The Relation Between Empathy and Aggression: The Role of Attachment Style (2022). Europe’s Journal of Psychology. Retrieved February 20, 2026 here.
Maryland General Assembly, Statutes Text. Retrieved here.
Oral Tradition, Milwaukee Public Museum. Retrieved April 17, 2026 here.
P Matthijs Bal & Martijn Veltkamp, How Does Fiction Reading Influence Empathy? An Experimental Investigation on the Role of Emotional Transportation (2013). Plos One. Retrieved February 18, 2026 here.
Steven Pinker. The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined. (2012).
