Why sexual harassment complaints aren't more common in DC

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Jul 29, 2013

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Why sexual harassment complaints aren't more common in DC

San Diego mayor Bob Filner spent nearly two decades in Washington, where the culture doesn't encourage victims to come forward.

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner's own political party Thursday called for the leader of the nation's eighth-largest city to resign as four more women identified themselves as targets of his sexual advances. (File photo: Bob Filner in Washington D.C. May 6, 2008).

San Diego mayor Bob Filner spent nearly two decades in Washington, where the culture doesn't encourage victims to come forward.

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner recently announced that he would be checking himself in for two weeks of therapy in August, but would not be resigning. This after four additional women, including a retired Navy rear admiral and a dean at San Diego State University, accused him of unwanted sexual harassment.

All seven of the women who have accused Filner of inappropriate behavior are in California. So far, no accusations have come from Washington, DC, where Filner served for two decades in Congress.

KPCC's Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde reports.