Denim Day: Showing Support for SA Victims

April is the month to acknowledge, educate, and advocate for survivors of sexual assault (SAAM.)

In 1999, an 18 year old girl was raped by a 45 year old man who was her driver’s instructor. He took her to an abandoned road and took advantage of her there. He was sent to jail after she had reported him but later appealed it claiming it was “consensual.” The case was accepted by the Italian Supreme Court and they overturned the man’s conviction based on their assumption that the girl had “helped” him pull down her jeans because they were apparently too tight and he couldn’t have possibly removed them by himself. The next day, all of the women who were part of the Italian Parliament wore jeans to work. 

This protest caught the attention of the international media, and influenced the California Senate and Assembly to do the same protest on the steps of the Capitol in Sacramento.

In support of sexual assault victims, LB held a booth in the courtyard for Denim Day last week to raise awareness to the story behind Denim Day, and to further the awareness of sexual assault, centering around the idea that clothes worn is not an excuse for sexual assault. The day is observed on the last Wednesday of April every year.