Denim Day: Wear Jeans with a Purpose

Recently I heard about Denim Day and honestly knew nothing about it. With a little online research I discovered that Denim Day was started to protest an Italian court case where a man’s rape sentence was overturned because the Italian Supreme Court felt “because the victim wore very, very tight jeans, she had to help him remove them, and by removing the jeans it was no longer rape but consensual sex.”

The protest is that because of her clothing she must have either helped her rapist or invited the attack in some way.

Denim Day is a globally celebrated campaign designed to bring awareness and prevention for sexual violence. So often in our culture we shy away from issues like this that can be awkward or uncomfortable to discuss. We don’t like to think of the depravity of humans unless it’s glossed up by Hollywood and performed by our favorite actors. The idea that a rape scene or intense violence is simply glamorized fiction lets us leave it and think soothingly to ourselves, “I’m so glad that is not real.”

Here is the reality, as reported on the Denim Day USA home page:

• Every two and a half minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted.
• One in six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape.
• According to the Los Angeles Police Department, there were 1,117 rapes during the year 2003 with only 260 rape suspects arrested.
• 82.8% of rapes committed by an intimate are not reported to the police.
• 35% of college men who voluntarily participated in psychological research conducted at several universities indicated they might commit a rape if they knew they could get away with it.
• Two million children around the world are forced into prostitution every year.
• Law enforcement arrests for internet sex crimes against minors are on the rise.
• 15,000 to 19,000 people with developmental disabilities are raped each year in North America.

“Survivors deserve support and assistance, not shame and blame.”

This is real, this is happening all around us every day. Just wearing Denim isn’t the answer, but educating ourselves and others is a start.

1. Information is power! Pass along this blog post or link up to http://denimdayusa.org/ and share information with friends and family.
2. Donate to a local Women’s Shelter. For us in Northwest Arkansas they are in need of almost everything!  (donations of food, toiletries, and clothing as well as furniture, household items, appliances, and clothing and shoes, including all sizes of children’s, men’s, and women’s) Check with your local shelter to see what their specific needs are.
3. Educate yourself. If one of the above issues stood out more to you than another, take the time to educate yourself! Become an activist and speak out for the victims that can’t or won’t speak for themselves. That may simply be donating time, money, goods or blog space. Do what you can, even if it’s one time, because every little bit helps someone else.

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