Schoolgirl, 11, ‘took two knives’ into school over April 24 TikTok ‘National Rape Day’ hoax
AN 11-YEAR-OLD girl took two knives into school over fears about a sick TikTok hoax said to promote 'National Rape Day'.
The schoolgirl was terrified after seeing rumours of a "disgusting" video that claimed to show men encouraging others to sexually assault women on April 24.
Police in Hampshire said they had spoken to the child who "was afraid of being raped" and warned her actions could have had "dire consequences".
Officers said they recovered the blades but did not arrest her, instead offering reassurance and crime prevention advice.
The supposed hoax started on popular video sharing app TikTok but has since spread to other social media platforms.
Women have been warned to stay indoors after rumours of the stomach-churning threats for April 24 were released.
The alleged original clip cannot be located - and may never have existed in the first place - but thousands of related videos exist.
And the hashtag #April24 has been viewed more than 118.2million times.
The disturbing 'trend' has sparked panic online, with users advising women to lock their doors and even stay inside all day.
Charities have slammed reports of a 'National Rape Day', highlighting the dangers of such a "distressing" supposed "joke", even if it was not intended to be taken seriously.
One campaigner described the idea of a day where laws are suspended and rape is legal as "abhorrent".
Katie Russell, from Rape Crisis England & Wales, told The Sun Online: "Regardless of its origins, or whether or not it was intended as a ‘joke’ at any point, the very concept of such a day is abhorrent and has caused many people, particularly women and girls, a great deal of understandable fear.
"The ‘trend’ will no doubt have also been extremely distressing for many, not least of all victims and survivors of rape and all forms of sexual violence and abuse who might have had vivid memories and flashbacks to past experiences triggered by this.
"Rape and sexual assault are always serious crimes. It should also go without saying that rape and all forms of sexual violence and abuse are traumatic experiences that can and do have wide-ranging and long-lasting impacts, and are never appropriate topics to ‘joke’ about."
Regardless of its origins, or whether or not it was intended as a ‘joke’ at any point, the very concept of such a day is abhorrent and has caused many people, particularly women and girls, a great deal of understandable fear.
Katie Russell, Rape Crisis
And Andrea Simon, director of End Violence Against Women Coalition, said: "We wouldn't accept threats to rape offline and we can't ignore them online.
"They intend to intimidate and silence women in online spaces, causing real harm to individuals and to society and should never be tolerated."
Police said that while "at the risk of highlighting something that does not deserve to be highlighted", they felt that it was "important to provide some information about a hoax social media post".
In a post on Facebook, Southampton cops continued: "Not only is this hoax disgusting, making light of one of the most serious, most traumatic offences a human can commit against another, it is also causing many children to be very afraid.
"Today we had to speak to an 11-year-old girl who took two knives into school because she had heard it was almost National Rape Day and she was afraid of being raped.
'DIRE CONSEQUENCES'
"(We have recovered the knives, and no, we didn’t arrest her. We have provided reassurance and crime prevention advice to her and her parents.)
";Had the knives not been recovered this could have had dire consequences had this child lashed out in fear for any reason.
"Parents, please reassure your children that the hoax in question is exactly that: a hoax.
"It is NOT true and they definitely do not need to arm themselves for protection.
"And if you or your children see the “joke” post in question, please report it to the social media platform so they can take action and DO NOT share it as it simply spreads fear and anxiety, particularly among school and college aged children."
Rumours of the video have also spread on WhatsApp groups with students in Cornwall saying they are afraid to go outside.
A spokesperson for Falmouth University said any messages encouraging sexual violence were "abhorrent" but there was "no evidence" of a genuine threat.
Devon and Cornwall Police are looking into claims around the encrypted chat which has reportedly been discussing “Rape Day”.
A force spokesperson said: “Police have received a report of the existence of the WhatsApp group and are currently making enquiries regarding the credibility of the group.”
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TikTok has claimed it cannot locate the original video but has asked users to report any content related to the sick day.
A spokesperson for the platform told The Sun Online: "The supposed 'National Rape Day' trend being reported upon is abhorrent and would be a direct violation of our Community Guidelines, and while we haven't seen evidence of this trending on our platform, our safety team remains vigilant and would remove any such content."
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Users of the app are being urged to report any posts promoting the event or sexual assault of any kind.
- If you have been upset, worried or triggered by this story, you can contact Rape Crisis online at