Dress to protest Denim takes on a new meaning for annual campaign

Katrell Readus readukat000@hsestudents.org

On April 26, 2023, it is estimated that millions will navigate their day while wearing denim, in an effort to pay tribute to victims and protest the out outcomes of a criminal court case that occurred just over 30 years ago.

During the summer of 1992, in Italy, an 18-year-old girl was raped by her 45-year-old driving instructor during her first-ever driving lesson. The instructor was convicted, but filed an appeal years later and was released when the court overturned his sentence. His appeal was affirmed and granted based on the assertion that the young woman’s jeans were evidence of her consent, saying that, due to how tight the garment was, it would have been impossible for him to removed them without her help. This assistance, in the mind of the court, was enough to negate the possibility of coercion or the leveraging of physical force to pressure someone into a sexual encounter, despite claims by the victim that threats on her life were made.

This heinous and egregious act by one man was furthered and exacerbated by the Italian court system’s reversal. The overturning prompted immediate outrage and an outpouring of support for the victim that began with the women of the Italian parliament. The group chose, the day after the decision was handed down, to wear jeans, and stand on the steps of the court in protest.

However, the indignation did not remain contained in Italy. It eventually became international when the media coverage reached the states and the California Senate and Assembly emulated the protest. The outcry continued and ultimately created the gateway to the formation of Denim Day, and solidified this case as one that inspired action. Denim Day acts as a day-long demonstration that prompts individuals to follow the set example and protest by wearing jeans on the last Wednesday in April in order to stand in solidarity with sexual assault survivors and victims, a demographic that is continuously growing.

According to RAINN, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, a sexual assault occurs every 68 seconds in the U.S. Numbers like these have forced the founding of social movements, and established their yearly recognition. Allowing these types of assaults to continue as often as they do without some form of social intervention would be a disservice and a further miscarriage of justice to those in which this type of brutality is inflicted.

Denim Day also calls for the condemnation of victim blaming, an all too common phenomenon by which a victim is considered partially or wholly at fault for the brutality they suffered just as the young woman was in the originating case.

In accordance with this now annual campaign, denim will once again take its place as a token of activism on April 26 when, according to denimday.org, the official website for the campaign, millions will participate in demonstrating a mutual disgust for the brutality and violation of sexual assault.

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