Wearing jeans seems like a normal occurrence, but for many people across the United States, April 29th, 2015, wearing jeans is a statement against sexual assault and sexual violence. April is Sexual Violence Awareness Month and Denim Day is a symbol of protest against destructive attitudes and ideas about sexual assault.

The idea of wearing jeans came out of a court case in Italy where, in 1992, a 45-year old driving instructor took an 18-year old girl to an isolated road, forced her out of the car, and proceeded to rape her. When she got home, she told her parents and they helped and supported her to press charges. He was sentenced to jail, but repealed the decision. This case then advanced to higher courts until it reached the Italian Supreme Court. The Supreme Court overturned the decision and the perpetrator was released. This verdict was made on the basis that “jeans cannot be removed easily and certainly it is impossible to pull them off if the victim is fighting against her attacker with all her force.” Along with this way of thought, old laws made a way for the offender to get out of punishment. One way being if he agreed to marry the victim or could prove she had previous sexual relations, then charges were dropped and forgotten about.
This ruling led to an immediate protest by the women in Parliament, which consisted of 10 female judges to 410 male judges. The female judges wore jeans to work as their form of peaceful protest. This “jeans strike” received immediate support from California and Denim Day was created. Since then, Denim Day has spread throughout the United States and world and is observed at different times during the year. Peace Over Violence, the agency that runs the campaign, is asking “community members, elected officials, businesses, and students to make a social statement with their fashion by wearing jeans on this day (April 29th, 2015) as a visible means of protest against the misconceptions that surround sexual assault” to aid in educating of people about rape prevention and ultimate elimination to advance social justice, society, and life. Millions of people will be participating in this effort, will you?