Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), who was — until a few days ago — running for governor of California, has had to end his campaign amid a swirling morass of sexual scandal. According to CNN, it was apparently an "open secret" in Washington, D.C., that Swalwell was rambunctiously unfaithful to his wife. But within the past week, several women have come forward to accuse Swalwell of sexual assault, including rape. On Tuesday, Swalwell also resigned from his congressional seat under pressure from former House Speaker (and Swalwell's mentor) Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other prominent Democrats.

The accusations made against Eric Swalwell are eerily evocative of those that brought down other powerful men during the height of the #MeToo movement a few years ago, including disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, comedian and actor Bill Cosby and former "Today" show anchor Matt Lauer. There's an unnerving pattern that emerges in many of these stories. Women often admit that they were surprised, flattered or "starstruck" by the men's attention; they hoped these powerful men could advance their career aspirations. Women often acknowledge that the men's behavior made them uncomfortable and that they didn't want to respond or reciprocate, but did it anyway.

Reading these accounts makes me think of Gavin de Becker's bestselling 1997 book, "The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us........

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