History of Denim Day
Denim Day grew out of a 1998 Italian Supreme Court decision that overturned a rape conviction because the victim wore tight jeans.
The accused in the case was found guilty of rape and appealed the decision, claiming that they had consensual sex. The case makes it all the way to the Italian High Court where the conviction is overturned because the justices felt that since the victim was wearing tight jeans she must have helped the person who raped her remove her jeans, implying consent. Enraged by this verdict women in the Italian Parliament protested by wearing jeans to work. As the news of the decision spread, so did the protests.
Peace Over Violence has organized Denim Day, which has evolved nationally and internationally, to become an award winning rape prevention education campaign, which asks community members, elected officials, businesses and students to make a social statement with their fashion statement. Wearing jeans on this anniversary has become an international symbol of protest against erroneous and destructive attitudes about sexual violence.
For more information about Denim Day, please click on the link below:
https://www.denimdayinfo.org/why-denim
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