After The New York Times and The New Yorker exposed years of alleged sexual harassment and assault by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, the floodgates have been opened across the economy. Allegations have overwhelmed influential figures in industries as diverse as art, food, media, sports, and technology. Powerful men who had for decades preyed on women without rebuke are being toppled from their positions of influence.

Now that these men, whose abuses had been “open secrets” for decades, are finally facing repercussions, important questions remain. How were their acts kept secret for so long? And how were they allowed to continue victimizing women over and over again? A huge piece of the answer lies in the methods companies have increasingly deployed to protect these men from public scrutiny. Complaints of abuse have been tidily swept under the rug through non-disparagement agreements that keep victims quiet and contract clauses that push them into private arbitration and away from court.

If we want to change a culture of impunity for sexual harassers, we can end both of these practices right now. Until we do, harassers will be able to silence their victims, companies will avoid public backlash, and the abuse will continue.

Weinstein deployed non-disclosure agreements against many of his victims. The New York Times reported that he reached at least eight settlements with women over the years, and one common feature seems to have been a requirement that they not speak to anyone about what happened. An agreement signed by one of his former assistants, Zelda Perkins, even made her give Weinstein’s lawyers advance notice if she was required to say anything in a criminal legal process and to “limit the scope of the disclosure as far as possible.”

The same strategy was used by former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, who also settled with a number of women alleging sexual harassment, but required their silence in return for the sums of money he and Fox gave them.