On April 24, wear denim and join millions of people across the world that will wear jeans with a purpose, support survivors, and educate themselves about all forms of sexual violence.
Denim Day is a campaign in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, which began after a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court where a rape conviction was overturned because the justices felt that, since the victim was wearing tight jeans, she must have helped the person who raped her remove her jeans, thereby implying consent. The following day, the women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim. Peace Over Violence developed the Denim Day campaign in response to this case and the activism surrounding it. Since then, what started as a local campaign to bring awareness to victim blaming and destructive myths that surround sexual violence has grown into a movement.
As the longest running sexual violence prevention and education campaign in history, Denim Day asks community members and students to make a social statement by wearing jeans on this day as a way to speak out about the misconceptions that surround sexual violence.
Learn more about Denim Day here, and for more information about preventing and responding to sexual violence on our campus, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Sarah Catherine Richardson
Division of Student Affairs