It’s obvious that a touch of a woman’s knee from a man with power means something different than it would from a peer. We humans are capable of sophisticated communication by the subtlest of means. When a senior male politician makes such a move towards a young female journalist or sends a florid text message, it is hardly a stretch to read that as a signal of interest – and if it comes during, say, a conversation about careers, a promise of advancement if the implied offer is accepted. And of negative consequences if it is declined.