Denim Day Explained

April 25th marks Denim Day, in which ladies are encouraged to wear denim to spread awareness about rape and sexual assault. It is important to understand the magnitude and severity of the issues being addressed today.

In 1992, a 45-year-old driving instructor was accused of raping an 18-year-old girl during a driving lesson. However, the sentence was not a rape charge, but rather a charge of “indecent exposure”. The reasoning behind this was because of the victim’s apparel. The Italian Supreme Court accepted the argument that the sex had been consensual due to her tight jeans being enough reason for it to be consensual. The absurd reason was that she had to have helped him remove the jeans.

This caused an uproar amongst many. The day after this court case was ruled, women of the Parliament in Italy wore jeans and held cards in opposition to the ruling. People wanted to take action because the ruling was unfair and minimized the pain and trauma inflicted upon the teenage girl at the time.

Denim Day is recognized in many U.S. states, from L.A. to New York City. Wearing jeans on this day is a way to protest against horrific attitudes about sexual assault and victim blaming. Assault is never about a female or male’s choice of clothing.

The event is intertwined with the Peace Over Violence movement, supported by Guess. A press conference was held at the Guess Headquarters in Downtown L.A.