Denim Day brings awareness to sexual assault

COLUMBUS, Ohio – April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Denim Day was an event which encouraged people to wear jeans (denim) to help raise awareness and promote prevention of rape and sexual assaults. Land and Maritime leadership approved Wed., April 27th as a command sponsored opportunity to show support for Denim Day.

Denim Day was a collective response to a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court in 1992 where a rape conviction was overturned because the justices felt that since the victim’s jeans were too tight and she must’ve helped her rapist remove them, implying consent. Women in the Italian Parliament came to work the following day wearing jeans (denim) to demonstrate support for the victim. Denim Day has become an annual event that embodies the spirit of protest against indifferent attitudes about sexual assault.

The first Denim Day was in Los Angeles, California in April 1999, and has continued every year since.

Land and Maritime military members participated in this year’s event, maneuvering through the hallways with associates dressed in denim to show shared support.

SAAM is an annual campaign to raise public awareness about sexual assault and educate communities and individuals on how to prevent sexual violence. It was first observed nationally in April 2001. In 2010, President Obama was the first United States president to proclaim April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

By participating in Denim Day on April 27 every Land and Maritime associate demonstrated their awareness of the vital role they play and their influence in promoting the prevention of sexual violence.

SAPR L&M