In comments that have already stirred criticism among women's rights advocates, Hong Kong's security secretary Lai Tung-kwok announced in a press conference on Wednesday that women can help prevent rape by not drinking "too much" alcohol.

“Some of these cases … involved the victims being raped after drinking quite a lot of alcohol,” Tung-kwok told reporters. “So I would appeal that young ladies should not drink too much.”

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Tung-kwok's comments come in response to a government report showing that rape cases in Hong Kong have increased 60 percent from the previous year. In addition to the spike in reported rapes, sexual assaults rose by 18 percent.

Anti-sexual assault advocates are concerned that his remarks will have a chilling effect on women hoping to report an assault, who may now fear they will be blamed, as the Wall Street Journal reports: