WASHINGTON — Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson walked back comments she made earlier Thursday suggesting that blame for sexual assault falls partly on victims because of how they dress or because they don't report the abuse.

"I grew up in a time when it was as much the woman's responsibility as the man's — how you were dressed, what your behavior was,” the Dallas Democrat said in an interview with KXAS-TV (NBC5) on the recent sexual assault allegations brought against film producer Harvey Weinstein.

"Many times, men get away with this because they are allowed to get away with it by the women," she added.

Within hours, she issued a statement clarifying that she in no way condones sexual assault, and that perpetrators are responsible for their actions and should be held accountable.

More than 40 women have come out this month claiming that Weinstein has sexually harassed or assaulted them.

When asked whether conversations about sexual assault should shift from focusing on what women are wearing to addressing abuses of power, Johnson suggested that women take control.

“We also need to start talking about the power that women have to control the situation," she said. "There's law enforcement, you can refuse to cooperate with that kind of behavior.”

She also implied that some women invite sexual assault and unwanted advances.

"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," Johnson said.

"When you have an expectation that that might happen and that's how you've got to do it to make it, that's a mental thing that has to change with the woman," she continued.

But in a written statement Thursday afternoon, Johnson stressed that she did not hold victims responsible for assault.

“I do acknowledge that my comments regarding behavior and attire come from an old-school perspective that has shaped how some of us understand the issue,” she said. “But that does not detract from the fact that criminals need to be held accountable for their actions.”

“I will never condone those who feel they can abuse the power of their positions to sexually assault and harass women, and I will always encourage victims to come forward so that we can hold these criminals accountable,” she added.