Sexual Assault Awareness Month: Denim Day

Lilly Kate Diaz ‘20


Did you know that in the United States, April is Sexual Assault Awareness month? Spread awareness by participating on Denim Day (April 26th, 2017).

Did you know?
Nearly 1 in 5 women in a national survey say they have been raped.
(CDC)

Only about 1 out of 4 reported rapes leads to an arrest. Similarly, only about 1 out of 4 arrests leads to a felony conviction and incarceration. (RAINN/Dept. of Justice)

44% of sexual assault and rape victims are under the age of 18. (USDOJ)

1 in 5 women are sexually assaulted while in college. (White House Report Rape & SA: A Renewed Call to Action)

15,000-19,000 people with developmental disabilities are raped each year in North America. (National center on domestic and sexual violence)

Victims of sexual assault are 3x more likely to suffer from depression, 6x more likely to suffer from PTSD, 13x more likely to abuse alcohol, 26x more likely to abuse drugs, and 4x more likely to contemplate suicide. (WHO)

Every two minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted (RAINN-Dept. of justice)

To learn more statistics, check out here.

About Denim Day

For the past 18 years, Peace Over Violence has run its Denim Day campaign on a Wednesday in April in honor of Sexual Violence Awareness Month.

The campaign was originally triggered by a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court where a rape conviction was overturned because the justices felt that since the victim was wearing tight jeans she must have helped her rapist remove her jeans, thereby implying consent. 

The following day, the women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim. And thus began the Denim day campaign.

Since then, wearing jeans on Denim Day has become a symbol of protest against erroneous and destructive attitudes about sexual assault. 

This campaign asks that community members, elected officials, businesses and students to make a social statement with their fashion by wearing jeans on this day as protest against the misconceptions that surround sexual assault.

Misconceptions

Though people may be informed about sexual assault, it does not mean that we are all free from the misconceptions that sexual assault has been stigmatized with. There are also a couple of ways to think productively when possibly encountering an incident of assault. To check out a couple of those misconceptions and productive thinkings, go here.

Break It Down

In this section of the Denim Day website, you will find a mini dictionary/definitions for these specific words:

• Sexual Violence
  
• Rape
  
• Consent is
  
• Consent is not
  
• Respectful Sexuality
  

Healthy Sexuality

This section explains that some people may not even be aware of what a healthy sexuality is. We all know that sexuality is complicated and this wheel describes what those traits are in a healthy sexuality. 

Here are a couple:

• Intimacy
  
• Self-Determination
  
• Consent
  
• Trust
  
• Mutuality
  

Go and discover the wheel, more traits, and their definitions here.

15 Ways

This page on their website explains how others can help spread awareness and help sexual assault survivors. A couple of the ways you can help are these:

1. Recognize that people neither ask for nor deserve to be raped—ever.
2. Support and believe survivors of sexual violence.
3. Speak up and challenge victim-blaming statements.
4. Challenge comments or jokes that perpetuate rape culture or sexism.
5. Take action by directly intervening or getting help if you see someone about 

You can find more here.

Involvement:

“Sexual Assault is being brought out of the shadows because people are breaking away from the silence, the shame, and the stigma.”

To recognize that sexual violence is everyone’s issue. And now it is time to take a stance for change!  This section explains some of the promises one will make if they participate with the Denim Day campaign. 

I PROMISE TO UPHOLD THESE 4 ACTIONS:

1. TO RECOGNIZE THAT SEXUAL VIOLENCE IS EVERYONE’S ISSUE. 


2. PARTICIPATE IN THE NATIONAL CONVERSATION ABOUT RAPE AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE WITH THE HASHTAGS #GEARUP #DENIMDAY.

3. TO SUPPORT SURVIVORS AND NOT BLAME THE VICTIM.


4. TO ENGAGE IN HEALTHY AND VIOLENCE FREE RELATIONSHIPS.

You can register here and make the promise!

Events/Action:

Here’s a section on their website on how there are other places (even in your local area) that have events going on with informing the public about sexual assault! You should definitely volunteer, get educated in sexual assault, and/or speak up about your story.

Denim Day @ USC

Wear Denim on the 26th to stand in solidarity with victims of sexual assault. 

Get Help

If you or someone you know has been assaulted, know that even though you may help, there are other resources that others may go to in order to get help. Info can be found here.

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