Texas congresswoman says women have responsibility to prevent sexual abuse
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson said women also had a responsibility to dress and act appropriately to prevent abuse.
Texas Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson said that while she was upset and disappointed to hear all of the allegations of sexual misconduct being leveled against Harvey Weinstein, women also had a responsibility to dress and act appropriately to prevent abuse.
“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,” Johnson, 81, told NBC 5. “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.”
She went on to claim that women allow sexual misconduct.
–Lupita Nyong’o reveals she was sexually harassed by Harvey Weinstein–
“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,” she said. “I think that many times, men get away with this because they are allowed to get away with it by the women.”
Johnson has since gotten severe backlash for her victim-blaming comments and has stated that her comments came “from an old school perspective.” She added that there is never any excuse for sexual assault and harassment.
