Content warning: This story mentions rape and sexual assault.
1-800-656-4673 is the National Sexual Assault hotline. 988 is the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
University of Maryland’s Campus Advocates Respond and Educate to Stop Violence (CARE) hosted an event on Wednesday, April 30, on McKeldin Mall at UMD to raise awareness about Denim Day and Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
The event thrown by the Peer Outreach CARE members educated students about Denim Day, which honors a victim of sexual assault from the 1990s, while providing students with denim crafts and activities to show support for power-based violence victims, according to Bri Hayes, CARE’s assistant coordinator for outreach and assessment. Â
“We wear jeans to show our support for survivors and to make a statement that consent matters and it’s not about what you wear,” Hayes said.Â
Denim Day shows support for a victim of sexual assault in Italy who lost her court case because she was wearing tight jeans, according to senior public health science major Faith Ogugua, which the court said implied consent because she must have had to help the perpetrator take them off. Â
After this victim lost her case, women within the Italian Parliament protested and showed support for the victim by wearing jeans, according to Ogugua. Ogugua said that by raising awareness about Denim Day, CARE hopes community members will understand the dangers of victim blaming.Â
Manasi Deepak, a sophomore general biology and public health major and member of the Peer Outreach CARE program, explained the importance of providing students with fun activities while educating them about what the event stands for.Â
“Power based violence and sexual assault is a very difficult topic and it’s not really something that everyone wants to hang out and talk about…so just finding a way to balance the two so that people feel more likely to engage, but not pressured,” Deepak said.Â
Senior government and politics major, Rachel Donaldson, took part in the activities and said that she enjoyed seeing people around campus come together to learn about the history of Denim Day. Â
CARE also educates the community about power-based violence through many other events throughout the school year that are thrown by their Peer Advocacy, Peer Education and Peer Outreach programs. In addition to Denim Day, Deepak said some of these other events include The Clothesline Project, Purple Lights Night and Take Back the Night. Â
CARE not only hosts events to educate the UMD community, but also serves as a resource for students and faculty that have experienced power-based violence, according to Hayes.
“A lot of people come to share their own experiences. It’s just very empowering…hearing all these people who feel supported and feel like they can share their experiences,” Deepak said.