Occurring every April, Denim Day is a day in which people are encouraged to wear denim to honor the victims of sexual assault. Not only does the local campaign turned global movement honor sexual assault victims, but the movement raises awareness toward victim-blaming. The exact date of Denim Day varies by year, but Denim Day 2020 will occur on Wednesday, April 29.
- The History Behind Denim Day
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The story takes place in Italy during the early 1990s. An 18-year-old girl who was about to go on her first driving lesson was raped by her 45-year-old driving instructor. The driving instructor pulled over the vehicle on a private road, had the girl step outside of the vehicle with him, aggressively removed her pants and proceeded to raped her. Luckily, the girl reported the rape, and the driving instructor was convicted and sentenced to jail.
However, a few years later, he appealed his conviction by stating that he did not rape her, but he and the girl did have consensual sex. The driving instructor’s conviction was overturned, and he was released from jail. The Italian Supreme Court stated that the girl’s skinny jeans she had been wearing the night of the assault were too tight for the driving instructor to have taken them off by himself. Therefore, the girl must have helped him remove her jeans, implying that she was giving consent.
Infuriated by the verdict of the case, women from the Italian Parliament protested along the steps of the Supreme Court building wearing skinny jeans. The protest caught the eye of media all over the world and inspired the California Senate and Assembly to partake in a similar demonstration on the steps of the State Capitol in Sacramento. Executive Director of Peace Over Violence, Patti Occhiuzzo Giggans, saw this demonstration and decided to create a Denim Day LA event in 1999. Ever since then, Denim Day has been held annually.
- How to Get Involved
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There’s no better way to show your support toward sexual assault victims by getting involved. If you want to get involved, you can by posting pictures to your social media of you wearing denim and using the hashtag #DenimDaay and donate to a local rape center to help fund programs and services. You can even volunteer at a local rape center or help hotline. Most importantly, educate yourself and others on the issues surrounding sexual assault.
For more information on Denim Day, visit denimdayinfo.org