Please wear denim tomorrow for the Denim Day Campaign. We are here to support survivors of sexual assault and dispel the stereotype about victim blaming.
CW: Sexual assault; victim blaming The Denim Day campaign, celebrated this year on April 24, began in 1999 after a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court overturned a rape conviction because the justices felt that since the victim was wearing tight jeans, she must have had to assist in removing them, thereby implying consent. The following day, the women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim, and the Denim Day campaign was created in support of that activism. Since then, the local initiative to help dispel harmful stereotypes about sexual violence and victim blaming has grown into an international movement, and is now the longest-running sexual violence prevention and education campaign in the world. It asks members of the public, elected officials, businesses, and students to wear jeans on this day as a visible protest against the myths surrounding sexual violence. ValorUS, a coalition committed to ending sexual violence, will hold a rally at the Sacramento Capitol, where advocates and changemakers amplify the voices of the survivors in an effort to support meaningful change.
