The internet is full of content on violence prevention. Most of it shouts. Very little of it thinks.
That gap is what Preventorium exists to fill — a YouTube channel where the science of violence prevention is presented carefully, sourced, and without the outrage cycle that usually drives this kind of content online.
The channel is live, the welcome video is up, and the first long-form episodes will follow across the year ahead, as the first season. This article explains why we built it, what to expect, and how it fits into the larger SVPW project.
Why a channel was needed
When you spend years thinking about violence prevention, you notice a peculiar pattern: the people who care most about the subject often disagree the most loudly — and the loudness gradually replaces the thinking.
On every platform, the structure is the same. A news event happens. A wave of takes follows. The takes are emotionally satisfying but rarely based on what the research actually says. After a few days, the conversation moves on. Nothing has changed. The next wave will come, and we’ll start over.
This isn’t anyone’s fault in particular. It’s the shape of the medium. But it means that adults who genuinely want to understand — parents, teachers, healthcare workers, social workers, simply curious people — have almost nowhere to turn for serious, calm, sourced content on these subjects.
Preventorium is our attempt to be that somewhere.
Watch the introduction
A 90-second introduction to the editorial line, the topics on the horizon, and the kind of conversation we want to start.
What the editorial line actually is
In one sentence: the science of violence prevention, without the outrage.
In practice, this means three commitments.
Each video answers a specific question that adults already ask themselves but rarely find a careful answer to. Not abstract academic terrain — concrete questions like “Does alcohol cause sexual violence?” or “What happens when children see pornography?” or “Are attractive defendants treated differently in court?”. Real questions, with the best evidence we have.
We cite our sources. Every claim that matters comes with a reference: peer-reviewed papers, WHO and CDC reports, longitudinal studies, meta-analyses when they exist. Not because we want to look academic, but because no one should have to take our word on these subjects.
We don’t moralise. The channel is for people who want to think, not for people who want to be reassured that they’re on the right side. We address uncomfortable questions head-on. We try to be careful, but we don’t soften findings to be palatable. If the data says something most people don’t want to hear, we say it — calmly, with context, and with the caveats the research itself includes.
The first season
Across this first season, the questions already on our list include:
- Are attractive defendants treated differently in court?
- The 9 skills that prevent violence
- Does alcohol cause sexual violence?
- Have most sex offenders been victims themselves?
- Can AI girlfriends push users toward violence?
- The 4 levels of violence prevention
- Does step porn normalize incest?
- What happens when children see pornography?
- Why cancel culture hurts violence prevention
- When emotion beats evidence in public debate
- Should we stop saying “survivor”?
- Do sex offenders really reoffend?
Some of these are squarely scientific. Some are more cultural — but where the cultural debate has measurable consequences for prevention work, we’ll address them. The order in which they come out, and what we add along the way, will depend on what the audience finds useful. That’s the advantage of starting small and steady.
How it connects to the SVPW
The Sexual Violence Prevention Workshop is a 2-hour collective experience, run by trained facilitators in workplaces, schools, healthcare teams, and community groups. Preventorium is something different: solo viewing, deeper specific topics, at the audience’s own pace.
The two are complementary. The workshop builds the shared cognitive frame in a group setting. The channel deepens specific questions individually. Many of the topics we’ll address in videos come from questions we’ve encountered in workshops over the years — questions that deserved more than the few minutes a session can give them.
If you’ve attended a workshop and wanted to know more, the channel is where to look. If you haven’t attended yet, the videos can serve as an entry point — short, accessible, and watchable in your language thanks to subtitles in our 15 supported languages.
Who it’s for
The audience is wide on purpose:
- Parents wanting to think clearly about screens, conversations, and what to teach.
- Educators at any level, looking for material they can refer to or share with colleagues.
- Healthcare and social workers who want calm sourced takes on questions their patients and clients raise.
- Researchers and students in psychology, criminology, public health, and adjacent fields.
- Anyone trying to think honestly about violence and how to prevent it, without being shouted at.
If you’re none of these but the framing speaks to you, you’re welcome too.
How to follow
Subscribe directly on YouTube: @thepreventorium. New videos publish on the channel as they’re produced, with subtitles added in the 15 supported languages.
Pace and frequency will adapt to the audience that builds. Quality over quantity is the editorial principle.
If a topic you’d like to see addressed isn’t on the upcoming list, send us a question — we read everything.
— Sébastien