Denim Day!

So you ask yourseld Denim Day? Isn't every day a great day to wear jeans? Well there is more to Denim Day. On Wednesday April 25, 2012 I opened  my county email I have as part of being an intern at the Monterey District Attorney's Office, Victims of Crime Unit. I looked though my mail and I come across "Denim Day" subject title. Little did I know the special day it was. I learned that Denim Day is a national day dedicated to victims of sexual assault. According to the Denim Day website, "It is a rape prevention education campaign, where we ask community members, elected officials, businesses and students to make a social statement with their fashion statement and on this day wear jeans as a visible means of protest against misconceptions that surround sexual assault". I was entrigued by the origin of Denim Day through a story the email had attached.

An 18-year old girl is picked up by her married 45-year old driving instructor for her very first lesson. He takes her to an isolated road, pulls her out of the car, wrestles her out of one leg of her jeans and forcefully rapes her. Threatened with death if she tells anyone, he makes her drive the car home. Later that night she tells her parents, and they help and support her to press charges. The perpetrator gets arrested and is prosecuted. He is convicted of rape and sentenced to jail.

He appeals the sentence. The case makes it’s all the way to the Italian Supreme Court. Within a matter of days the case against the driving instructor is overturned, dismissed, and the perpetrator released. In a statement by the Chief Judge, he argued, “because the victim wore very, very tight jeans, she had to help him remove them, and by removing the jeans it was no longer rape but consensual sex.”

Enraged by the verdict, within a matter of hours the women in the Italian Parliament launched into immediate action and protested by wearing jeans to work. This call to action motivated and emboldened the California Senate and Assembly to do the same, which in turn spread to Patricia Giggans, Executive Director of Peace Over Violence, and Denim Day in LA was born. The first Denim Day in LA was in April 1999, and has continued every year since. (Denim Day Usa, History n.d).

After reading I was so upset with the Italian Supreme Court's decison. I asked myself, how could someone in that position with so much education and power be able to conclude that the victim was not really a victim. I was beyond upset, I was quite infuriated! The thought that using a women's ability to express herself thorugh her clothing could be use against her in a court of law. Applying this to what we have learned in this class, I believe that protesting silently by wearing jeans on a designated day can help many become aware of the dangerous of sexual assault and how to take action. How do you feel about Denim Day? Did the origin of the day convey any kind of emotion? I am curious to know how men feel about this topic.

For more information such as statistic of sexual assault you may visit the Denim Day website. If I had known about this earlier, I would have totally brought this to your attention sooner but there is always next year to wear your favorute pair of jeans!