Denim Day is a worldwide campaign to fight against sexual violence. It is an annual event that always takes place on the last Wednesday in April, which is sexual assault awareness month. Wright State University held the event one week early, due to the traditional date falling during finals week.
Starting the campaign
This nationwide event began in 1999 when the Italian High Court overturned a rape conviction because, in their words, the victim’s jeans were “too tight” and therefore she must have taken them off herself, which meant she was giving consent.
The next day, the women in the Italian Parliament wore jeans to show their support, not just for that case, but for all of the people who never got the justice they deserved after their experience with sexual violence.
The media quickly got hold of the story, leading women all across the world to be outraged on the woman’s behalf. It first made its way to America through news outlets in L.A. reporting on it, and the story spread rapidly from there.
Since then, every year, people across the world wear denim on the last Wednesday of April to continue to stand with victims and try to break the stigma around victim-blaming when it comes to sexual assault.
About the event
The Denim Day event was hosted a week early on the campus of WSU to allow more students to attend, as the actual campaign day falls during finals week.
Kate Page, the Compliant Specialist and Title IX Coordinator at WSU, shared what the purpose and importance of this event was.
“The whole campaign was designed to honor survivors of sexual assault. It is important to continue to perpetuate this belief that no matter what someone was wearing, or the circumstances, that it is never the victim’s fault,” Page said.
Many victims never report their assault for a number of different reasons. There is fear around not being believed, not being taken seriously, victim-blaming and so much more. According to a study done by Phys Org, an online research website, nearly a third of victims never share their assault with anyone.
"The two most common reasons given for not telling anyone about being assaulted were internal blame, shame and guilt and external blame and/or fear of humiliation," Phys Org researches stated.
One WSU student, who wishes to remain anonymous, shared a bit about their personal experience and why they never spoke up about it.
“It took me a long time to even recognize my assault. I just told myself that other people had it worse, so what happened to me wasn’t a big deal. He was also in a position of authority over me, and I didn’t think anyone would believe me if I said anything,” the student shared.
It is hearing stories like theirs that make people aware of the need for events such as Denim Day. It allowed WSU staff and students to educate others and make people more aware of the stigma around sexual assault, inform students about Sexual Assault Awareness Month and allow students who may be struggling with their own assault a place where people understand and support them.
There are resources around campus: for example, you can go to the Women’s Center. There is also a crisis hotline set up through Counseling and Wellness, and they also offer counseling and victim support. You can find all that information on the WSU Counseling and Wellness website.
While Sexual Assault Awareness Month is nearing its end, people need to continue to support and believe victims and help them get the justice they deserve. It does not have to be April to inform others of the dangers, support survivors and remember this is a battle we are still fighting.
