Democrat Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson said Wednesday that women bear some “responsibility” for sexual harassment and assault because of their “inviting” behavior.
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Johnson said she was disturbed to find out that producer Harvey Weinstein was a sexual predator, but also put some of the blame on women for their style of dress and how they act around men.
“I grew up in a time when it was as much the woman’s responsibility as it was a man’s — how you were dressed, what your behavior was,” the Texas Democrat said. “I’m from the old school that you can have behaviors that appear to be inviting. It can be interpreted as such. That’s the responsibility, I think, of the female. I think that males have a responsibility to be professional themselves.”
Johnson also accused women of letting men “get away with” sexual harassment by not getting law enforcement involved or taking too long to come forward.
“I think we also need to start talking about the power that women have to control the situation. There’s law enforcement, you can refuse to cooperate with that kind of behavior. I think that many times, men get away with this because they are allowed to get away with it by the women,” Johnson said.