The sexist idea of women “asking for it” when they wear dresses that are “too shear” or pants “too tight” is alive and well in Beijing, where police recently asked women to cover up on public transportation in order to avoid harassment. An alternative route could have been targeting male harassers on China buses, but that would require social upheaval, or something equally difficult.

Instead, the China Daily reports that the Beijing Police’s micro blog posted the following guidelines for women in China who dare to hop on public transport:

“The guideline, published by the traffic department under the Beijing Public Security Bureau on Monday, says women should not wear minimal clothing, such as mini skirts or hot pants when taking public transportation and should call police promptly if they are sexually harassed.

“Women are advised to not sit on higher levels of buses and to stand on lower stairs, to avoid being the target of inappropriate picture-taking, and they should shelter their bodies with bags, magazines and newspapers.”

Though the whole magazine and newspaper thing might not be the worst idea for female subway-goers in short skirts who want to temporarily cover up, the sentiment that a woman’s clothing should be held responsible for sexual harassment from others is highly disputed and has garnered much criticism.

Jian Yue, a professor of law at Xiamen University who focuses on women’s rights, represents one such critical voice. According to the Shanghiist, he believes that the police’s “guidelines” will not solve the sexual harassment problem and has been thinking up laws on his own to help quell the issue.

Recently, groping, covert pictures, and other equally sleazy forms of harassment have been occurring all too much on Chinese public transit. As of now, those caught taking part in such behaviors are subject to a warning, fine, or up to 15 days in detention.

Meanwhile, this problem occurs in our own backyards, so to speak. Last year, at least 95 sex crimes on several public transit systems in San Francisco were reported by police, according an old New York Times article. These resulted in 40 arrests in 2012, but the problem is certainly an ongoing national one, affecting New York City with an astounding number of public masturbation incidents in the subway every year. Perhaps the news in China will get other nations to think more critically about the harassment women suffer on public transit worldwide.