Mary Bowerman

USA TODAY Network

Eric Trump defended his father’s comments about how Ivanka Trump would handle sexual harassment in the workplace, saying that he likely meant that Ivanka is “a strong, powerful woman” who wouldn’t “allow herself to be subjected to" such harassment.

The younger Trump's comments, made Tuesday, face similar scrutiny to Donald Trump's initial assertion that Ivanka, his daughter, would "find another career or find another company" if harassed.

Lisa Ruchti, professor of sociology at West Chester University of Pennsylvania, said that Eric Trump's comments seemingly equate a woman’s strength of character with whether she would be subjected to harassment in the workplace. Such an attitude toward harassment also takes the focus off the perpetrator and places it on the victim, Ruchti told USA TODAY.

“We are in a society that still puts the focus and responsibility on the woman who is experiencing any kind of violence – whether it’s domestic abuse, sexual harassment, or sexual assault,” Ruchti said.

Eric Trump, who is vice president of the Trump Organization, made the comments on CBS This Morning in response to a question about his father's interview with USA TODAY columnist Kirsten Powers. In the interview with Powers, published Monday, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said he hoped his daughter would "find another career or find another company" if she experienced the kind of sexual harassment of which Roger Ailes is accused of while he was CEO of Fox News.

Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, who sued Ailes over sexual harassment claims, tweeted about the comments Tuesday, saying: "Sad in 2016 we're still victim blaming women."

Donald Trump's comment also drew reaction from Fox News' Megyn Kelly (another of Ailes' accusers, according to New York Magazine; Kelly has also had a rocky journalistic relationship with Trump).

Ruchti notes that many women do not have the luxury of leaving a job in which they are harassed. Despite federal legislation and zero-tolerance policies in some offices, women often feel like they should try to fix the problem themselves.

"We don’t always know what to do next when colleagues or supervisor are interacting with us in a sexually inappropriate and or threatening way," she said. "It takes time to figure out that [harassment] is happening and many times we think oh this is just one thing or I can’t lose my job."

Often in male-dominated fields, women may not report harassment because they feel like "it's part of the job," according to Ruchti, author of Catheters, Slurs, and Pickup Lines: Professional Intimacy in Hospital Nursing.

Eric Trump defends his dad on comments about Ivanka Trump

And while Eric Trump may believe that women in powerful, managerial positions like his sister may be exempt from sexual harassment, that’s simply not the case, according to Amy Blackstone, a sociology professor at the University of Maine.

In a study published in 2012, Blackstone and two colleagues found that women in positions of power are significantly more likely to experience harassment in the workplace.

“We often think of harassment as a more powerful man, sort of creeping on a less powerful woman in the workplace,” she said. “But if we think about harassment as a tool to keep women in their place, it makes sense that women in a position of power might be more likely to experience it.”

While many equate sexual harassment with sexual advances, harassment in the workplace is wide-ranging.

"Sexual harassment can be offensive remarks made in the workplace, it can be the display of photos or calendars that are offensive to others," Blackstone said, adding, "It’s a whole host of behaviors."

Ruchti notes that women need to be supported when it comes to conversations about harassment in the workplace.

"If someone is dealing with sexual harassment or what they think is sexual harassment, trust your gut and see what kind of recourse is possible," she said.

USA TODAY NETWORK has reached out to Ivanka Trump for comment.

Follow @MaryBowerman on Twitter.

Contributing: Eliza Collins.