In a statement to POLITICO Rep. Marcy Kaptur said she never meant to suggest that women are to blame for harassment they experience. | Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Democratic lawmaker: Women's clothing an 'invitation' to harassment 'I saw a member yesterday with her cleavage so deep it was down to the floor,' Rep. Marcy Kaptur tells fellow Democrats at a private meeting.

A female Democratic House member shocked fellow lawmakers Wednesday when she said that the revealing clothing that some members and staffers wear is an “invitation” to sexual harassment.

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) made the comments during a private Democratic Caucus meeting Wednesday to discuss sexual harassment issues, according to two Democratic sources in the room.


“I saw a member yesterday with her cleavage so deep it was down to the floor,” Kaptur said, according to the sources present. “And what I’ve seen … it's really an invitation.” The comments left many others in the room stunned, the sources said.

Kaptur said women on Capitol Hill should have to abide by a stricter dress code, like those adopted by the military or corporations.

“Maybe I’ll get booed for saying this, but many companies and the military [have] a dress code,” she said. “I have been appalled at some of the dress of ... members and staff. Men have to wear ties and suits.”





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In a statement to POLITICO later Wednesday, Kaptur said she never meant to suggest that women are to blame for harassment they experience.

“When I was first elected to Congress my office and I became a refuge for female staffers who had been mistreated by their bosses. Some of them in tears many days. It is something I carry with me to this day and something I brought up during our Caucus meeting," she said. "Under no circumstances is it the victim's fault if they are harassed in any way. I shared the stories from my time here in the context of the ‘Me Too’ legislation and how we can elevate the decorum and the dress code to protect women from what is a pervasive problem here and in society at large.”

Two Democratic sources said other members and staffers present in the meeting were so surprised that no one knew what to say. “Nearly everyone in the room’s mouths were wide open aghast,” one of those sources said.

Kaptur, 71, has served in Congress since 1983. She’s the longest serving member of the Ohio delegation, representing a northern district that borders Lake Erie.

The dress code for female members, staffers and reporters has been relaxed in recent months after Ryan moved to modernize the rules following outcry about women not being able to wear sleeveless dresses in and around the House chamber. Both women and men are still expected to dress professionally, but the sergeant-at-arms isn't as strict in enforcing rules about women's shoulders being covered when present in the House chamber or Speaker's lobby.

Kaptur’s comments come as Congress continues to reckon with a raft of sexual harassment allegations within its ranks.

Three members — Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Reps. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) — resigned last week over sexual misconduct allegations.

Rep. Ruben Kihuen (D-Nev.) has also been accused of sexual harassment but has rebuffed calls from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and others to step down. And Republican Roy Moore lost the Alabama Senate race — the first time a Democrat won a Senate seat there in 25 years — after being dogged by allegations he sexually pursued teenagers while in his 30s.

Congressional leaders are bracing for more allegations against other members to surface at any time. Meanwhile, lawmakers have begun the arduous process of overhauling Capitol Hill’s arcane policies for reporting and policing sexual harassment.

Lawmakers in both chambers are pursuing bipartisan legislative solutions that would make the reporting process more friendly to victims. But those efforts are expected to take months to come to fruition.

In the meantime, congressional leaders have struggled with how to respond to sexual harassment allegations roiling Capitol Hill in the present. Congressional leaders have declared a “zero tolerance” policy for sexual harassment but that has proven difficult to define when it comes to long-term enforcement measures.

It took Pelosi several days to call for Conyers — the longest serving House member — to resign. And Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) hasn’t said Rep. Blake Farenthold should step down despite reports of a hostile workplace in the Texas Republican’s office and news that Farenthold used taxpayer funds to settle a sexual harassment complaint in 2014.

Pelosi did call for Kihuen to resign hours after an accusation that he sexually harassed a campaign staffer was reported. And Ryan quickly forced Franks out after learning the Arizona Republican allegedly asked two female staffers to carry his child via surrogacy.

The House Ethics Committee is taking another look at the Farenthold allegations. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Tuesday he expects the panel will look into the Kihuen allegations as well, though no formal announcement has been made.



This article tagged under: Nancy Pelosi

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