Denim Day-April 28, 2021 | Women Wear Jeans to Protest Myths About Rape
What Is Denim Day?
Denim Day is a campaign on a Wednesday in April in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. On this day, women wear jeans to protest all of the myths about why women and girls are raped, and to educate and bring awareness about sexual violence.
While the first Denim Day was held in Los Angeles in 1999, I was first made aware of the movement while preparing for a Sisterhood Session for International Women’s Day with our Sisterhood Share Club Contributor from Italy. I was astonished at the disturbing genesis of the movement.
What Sparked The Denim Day Movement?
The Denim Day movement was sparked by a ruling of the Italian Supreme Court in 1998 when it overturned a rape conviction because the victim wore ‘tight jeans’. Arguing, because the 18-year old driving student who was raped by a 45-year old Driving Instructor in 1992, wore jeans so tight that the only way to have gotten them off was if she had helped her attacker remove her jeans, thus making the act consensual. This would later be known as the ‘Denim Defense’. After global outrage, this ruling was finally overturned in 2008. The first official Denim Day was held in April of 1999.
The excerpt below from page of DenimDayInfo.org
Enraged by the verdict, the women in the Italian Parliament launched a protest wearing jeans on the steps of the Supreme Court. This protest was picked up by international media which inspired the California Senate and Assembly to do the same on the steps of the Capitol in Sacramento. Patti Occhiuzzo Giggans, Executive Director of Peace Over Violence, saw this in the media and thought everyone should be wearing jeans to protest all of the myths about why women and girls are raped. Denim Day in LA was born.
For more information on the case, visit The New York Times’ coverage.
Sisterhood Event
Join Sisterhood Sharing Sessions in support of sexual assault survivors. Wear jeans on April 28, 2021, and share your pics throughout our social media channels using the hashtags, #DenimDay, and #SisterhoodSupportsSurvivors. Visit our Event Post for more details.
Content Source: Wikipedia | DenimDayInfo.org
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