Denim Day
By Lauren
Content warnings for the article: mentions of sexual assault, sexual violence, and rape
As you (hopefully) already know, April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Throughout the month of April, JMU’s Students Against Sexual Assualt (SASV) organization has been hosting engaging events to provide students with fun, safe ways to become more knowledgable about the prevalence of sexual assault and how to intervene if you see someone in a potentially dangerous situation, among other things.
The final event of the month, Denim Day, will take place on Wednesday, April 27th.
Denim Day is an annual event on the last Wednesday of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. It was developed in 1999 by the nonprofit organization, Peace Over Violence. On Denim Day, everyone is encouraged to wear denim (jeans, jackets, maybe even both?) in solidarity with survivors of sexual violence.
You may be asking, why denim?
In 1992, there was a case of a 45-year-old man raping an 18-year-old girl in Italy. He was initially convicted of the crime, but three years and a couple of appeals later, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling. They claimed that her jeans were so tight that she would have had to help him take them off, implying consent.
Women in the Italian Parliament were furious. The next day, they showed up to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim and in protest of the ruling. The story was picked up by media across the world and soon members of the California Senate and Assembly were taking part in the protest.
The annual Peace Over Violence event was inspired by these women and began in LA in April 1999. It has spread to cities across the world since its inception. It is meant to “protest all of the myths about why women and girls are raped.”
SASV will have a photo booth set up on the quad for you to take photos wearing your denim. You can share your pictures on social media using #DukesWearDenim and tag them @sasvjmu on Instagram.
So, make sure you’re wearing denim on April 27, 2022! If you want to continue to learn more about women, gender, and sexuality studies, or keep working to combat sexual assault and sexual violence during your time at JMU, there are a few ways to go about it...
If you want to get involved with SASV, check out their Instagram and DM to learn more about joining!
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