Can confidentiality agreements shield sexual predators?

More than 50 women have now accused Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct, yet for years no one made a peep publicly. It appears that the women kept silent because they had signed one or both of two kinds of confidentiality agreements (also known as nondisclosure agreements, or NDAs): either a workplace NDA or a settlement NDA. In either case, the agreements appeared to bar the women from speaking up about Weinstein’s behavior. How can it be legal for a predator to force someone to shut up after they’ve been sexually harassed or even assaulted or raped?