Trigger Warning: This article includes discussion of sexual assault and violence. This content may be difficult for some readers, so please continue reading with caution and care for your own safety and well-being.
For the last 22 years, people all over the world have been wearing denim clothes on a late Wednesday in April. You may be wondering, "Why is there so much commotion over a normal article of clothing that so many people wear daily?" Well, on Denim Day, people wear denim with a purpose: to raise awareness and to show support and solidarity for survivors of sexual assault. Denim Day began as a small protest in Italy, however, it has gained a lot of traction in recent decades, with millions of people participating all around the globe.
Denim Day didn’t just appear out of nowhere, in fact, the reason why it started is a very appalling one. It all started in 1992 when an 18-year-old girl was raped by her driving instructor, a 42-year-old man. At the time of the crime, the girl was wearing jeans, which the man had to forcefully remove. She later reported what happened to her, and the man was arrested, prosecuted, and eventually convicted of rape. He was put in jail, and you might think, “That's where it ends, right?” Wrong. In 1998, he appealed his sentence, and the Italian Supreme Court overturned his conviction because of the “jeans alibi”. By the logic of the “jeans alibi”, a rape would not have been possible because of the tight jeans the victim was wearing. The court concluded that the victim would have had to help remove the jeans because it would be too difficult for the man to do it alone, therefore the act had to have been consensual. As you can imagine, the court’s decision sparked outrage all over the country and eventually the world.
This is when Denim Day truly began. The day after the court’s decision, women in the Italian Parliament organized a protest by wearing jeans to work and demonstrating on the steps of the Italian Supreme Court to show solidarity with the victim. The original days of this protest happened to occur in April, which is now commonly known as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. This protest in Europe paved the way for many similar ones all over the world, even in the U.S. in states such as California and New York. Now, millions of people join the protest, and the numbers just keep growing every year. In 2011, it was reported that over 2 million Americans were registered on the official Denim Day website to participate in the protest.
This is a photo of the women in the Italian Parliament protesting. Their signs read “Jeans: An Alibi for Rape.”
With the increasing popularity of all social media platforms, it makes it easier for people to show their support on Denim Day. Instead of gathering in person in large group demonstrations, many people have moved their protests online. Posting on social media makes it easier to spread the Denim Day message because many people are able to see the post and share posts as they please. To observe past social media demonstrations and this year’s as well, you can search for #DenimDay or #PeaceOverViolence on almost any social media platform.
Now that we know the history of Denim Day, let’s discuss the many reasons why you should participate and show your support this April 28th. Although sexual assault can be considered a “taboo” topic and pushed to the side, it really does affect everyone. It can happen to any gender, race, ethnicity, religion, etc. In America alone, almost 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men have experienced rape at some point in their lives. To go along with that, around 1 in 2 women and 1 in 5 men in America have experienced some other form of sexual violence, with young people being more at risk because of their vulnerability. For every 1,000 rapes, only 5 will lead to justice for the victim, which would be a felony conviction. This can be due to the stigma around reporting what happened to you in the first place, the fear of people not believing you, the fear of your report affecting your career and livelihood, and people not taking victims seriously.
Regardless of if a survivor chooses to report what happened to them, they will have to live with what happened to them for the rest of their life. This can take a major toll on both their mental and physical health. Many survivors can develop depression, PTSD, anxiety, eating disorders, and an array of other problems that deeply impact their day-to-day life because of the trauma. The aftermath can affect not only their state of health, but this can also affect the people around them such as family members, coworkers, friends, etc.
With all of this information on how important this issue actually is and how many people it really affects, you may be asking yourself, “What can I do to help?” As an individual, you can learn how to respond to someone that is pressuring you to do something you don’t want to do, and learn more about consent and respecting it. It is also good to develop systems to ensure your safety (ex. “The buddy system”). Finally, you can help prevent sexual assault by getting involved if you see something that doesn’t seem right to you. This could include witnessing inappropriate physical contact, hearing inappropriate jokes, or anything that takes this issue lightly or makes fun of it. Remember, anyone can help prevent sexual assault, and true change starts with you!
In the end, just talking about sexual assault and starting a conversation can make the topic less “taboo,” and it could also help a survivor reach out about what happened to them. It is not a topic to be taken lightly, and it can affect anyone. Finally, a very important thing that any person can give to a survivor of sexual assault is support, so make sure you do so by wearing denim on this Denim Day, Wednesday, April 28th, 2021.
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