Krista Ford has apologized for some controversial online advice she provided to women about personal safety, a comment that her uncle, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, said was "a mistake."

The morning after Krista Ford tweeted that women shouldn’t “dress like a whore,” she posted a message saying she was sorry.

“I didn’t mean to cause such an alarm and I apologize if I did. I just want women to be safe,” Ford tweeted on Thursday morning.

Hours before, the daughter of Toronto Coun. Doug Ford had written the following message on Twitter: “Stay alert, walk tall, carry mace, take self-defence classes & don’t dress like a whore.”

Krista Ford, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's niece, was a high-profile member of a Toronto women's football team, the Toronto Triumph, part of the Lingerie Football League. (Facebook)

The controversial tweet was posted shortly after Toronto police held a news conference to warn women in a downtown neighbourhood about a string of sexual assaults.

The tweet has since been removed.

Mayor Rob Ford said Thursday evening that his niece had acknowledged the mistake she had made, and it was time to move on.

"It’s a mistake she made," Ford said when speaking with reporters at the Canadian National Exhibition.

"She regrets it, she apologized for it."

Previously with Lingerie Football League

The mayor's niece was a high-profile member of a Toronto women's football team, the Toronto Triumph, part of the Lingerie Football League. Ford quit the team.

Her advice to "carry mace" is also controversial, since mace is a prohibited and restricted weapon.

A similar comment from a Toronto police officer led to the creation of the Slut Walk, which has spread to cities across North America and Europe.

Const. Michael Sanguinetti said during a personal security conference at York University in January 2011 that "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized."

Sanguinetti later apologized for the comment.

Slut Walk Toronto responded to Ford's comments on Thursday.

In a statement it said, "What Krista said was problematic for many reasons, including placing the onus for preventing sexual assault on a potential victim, pointing to clothes as a reason or inciting factor of sexual assault (time and time again proven to be untrue), and shaming survivors with 'don't dress like a whore'. When anyone says that 'dressing like a whore' makes someone liable to be raped, they're blaming existing survivors for their own victimization."