“It is a fact of common experience that it is nearly impossible to slip off tight jeans even partly without the active collaboration of the person who is wearing them.”
This is what the Italian Supreme Court had to say in 1998 to the 18-year-old woman who was bringing charges against her 45-year-old driving instructor who raped her.
After being convicted on rape charges, the driving instructor appealed by claiming the court had “overlooked” the fact that the victim was wearing tight jeans, and thus had to have helped remove them herself. The Italian Supreme Court seemed to agree with this line of reasoning, and overturned the conviction.
Denim Day takes place every April on a Wednesday, and this year it will be on Wednesday, April 24. The tradition started after the women of the Italian Parliament all wore jeans to work to stand in solidarity with the 18-year-old woman, and to combat the blatant victim blaming that was taking place in their court system.
Denim Day is the longest running sexual assault campaign in history, and the Cross Cultural Gender Center (CGCC) is continuing it by bringing it to Fresno State.
The CGCC is taking part in this yearly demonstration, and is calling upon Bulldogs to wear their denim in support of sexual assault survivors. They will be tabling in front of The Bucket at 11 a.m., and students will be able to show off their denim, win free stickers and learn about sexual assault survivor resources.
Some of the resources that will be advocated for are Fresno State Survivor Advocacy Services, which provides confidential help to anyone on campus who has suffered from sexual violence or harassment. Bulldogs will also be able to learn more about the 24/7 rape crisis hotline on campus.
This year, Fresno State’s advocacy for sexual violence survivors will continue the following day with a Take Back The Night event from 5-10 p.m., hosted by the Student Health and Counseling Center (SHCC) in the Resnick Student Union Event Plaza. This event will feature free food while supplies last, additional resources and a protest march.
“It is important that we keep bringing up awareness of Sexual Assault because it is still a huge problem in the United States,” Mindy Kates, survivor advocate from SHCC said. “RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), reports that an American is sexually assaulted every 68 seconds. This is unacceptable.”
