Many of the women who've made accusations against San Diego Mayor Bob Filner are in positions of considerable power, including prominent businesswomen, attorneys, a dean at San Diego State University.

Women who did not work directly for the mayor, but they all kept quiet about Filner's alleged behavior until they saw it had happened to others. We wondered what is it that stops women from just telling the guy off.

If it happened to you, you might think that you'd fight back against the offender right then and there. But if you've never been in that moment, it's hard to say whether embarrassment or shock might keep you from doing so.

We're joined now by Louise Fitzgerald, emeritus professor of women's studies and psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign who has done some of the leading research on this subject.