The continuing revelations about Harvey Weinstein tell us something important about sexual harassment and sexual violence, and also about civil-rights movements and social change more broadly.
In brief: Because of social norms, people often shut up, even if they are humiliated, hurt or angry. It is only when norms start to shift that people feel free to disclose what they have experienced, and to say what they think.
Once they are unleashed, social upheaval can result. But it is hard or even impossible to predict whether that will happen - and what form it will take.
I learned something about self-silencing and sexual harassment in the late 1980s, when I was a visiting professor at Columbia Law School.