Good Vibes Cafe, Falmouth 'Rape Day' protest call to stay open late

Jade Phipps, who runs the Good Vibes Cafe on Killigrew Street owned by her partner Dan Rossiter, was so horrified by the news of the trend started on the social media platform TikTok that she is calling on fellow business owners to act.

She is asking them to be in their premises on the evening of the 24th with the lights on, both as deterrent to the alleged plans and as a protest against violence against women.

Posting on Facebook she wrote: "Following the horrifying news of a ‘trend’ encouraging the assault of women on 24th April in Falmouth, I’m calling on fellow local business owners to act with me.

"I’m asking business owners to be in their premises on the evening of the 24th, with the lights on, both as a deterrent to these alleged assault plans, and as a protest against the violence against women that happens in this country everyday.

"We’ll each be a safe place for vulnerable people walking through the town- whether that be as a port of call on a walk home that feels unsafe, as allies to call out and act against violence against women, or simply as a light left on in solidarity.

"If you’d like to join me, or you have any ideas as to how we can improve on this idea, please message me. Sometimes it can feel hopeless and like there’s nothing we can do, but we have to start somewhere."

Her actions were prompted by revelations in the Packet that students from Falmouth University were allegedly involved in the trend started on TikTok by a group of men in America which had gone worldwide.

She told the Packet she really hoped it was a hoax but said that she and Dan felt they had to do something to make women feel safe.

"When me and Dan read about it we thought 'what can we do as a local business?' as we have a responsibility.

"We all want this area to be a safe place to live and a nice place to live. Dan said we could start leaving the lights and that's where the #leavethelighton hashtag came from.

"I didn't have a perfectly formulated idea but sometimes you have to put it out there. Since then a lot of people have beeb saying thank you, I think a lot of the student population are really scared.

"So we just said we are going to be there. If a few business did that, had their lights on or sat outside or inside, the town would feel so much safer because of it."

She added:  "I hope it's a hoax but if one person gets assaulted on Saturday night that's one person too many that's why it needs to be taken seriously."

She said she had already had responses from other businesses expressing their support.

Falmouth Police are investigating the credibility of a WhatsApp group that had allegedly been joined by students from Falmouth.

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Credibility of 'Rape Day' WhatsApp group being investigated by Falmouth police

Falmouth University has responded to the investigation saying it would have a zero tolerance approach to any student found promoting the trend on social media.

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Falmouth University speaks out over 'Rape Day' allegations involving students