Denim Day
The History:
Italy, 1992
An 18-year old girl is picked up by her married 45-year old driving instructor for her very first lesson. He takes her to an isolated road, pulls her out of the car, wrestles her out of one leg of her jeans and forcefully rapes her. Threatened with death if she tells anyone, he makes her drive the car home. Later that night she tells her parents, and they help and support her to press charges. The perpetrator gets arrested and is prosecuted. He is convicted of rape and sentenced to jail.
He appeals the sentence. The case makes it’s all the way to the Italian Supreme Court. Within a matter of days the case against the driving instructor is overturned, dismissed, and the perpetrator released. In a statement by the Chief Judge, he argued, “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.”
Enraged by the verdict, within a matter of hours the women in the Italian Parliament launched into immediate action and protested by wearing jeans to work. This call to action motivated and emboldened the California Senate and Assembly to do the same . . .
Make a Difference: Why Wear Denim Today?
- Make it possible for more survivors of sexual assault to reach out and find help.
- Promote prevention through education, so sexual violence won’t occur in the first place.
- Encourage men and boys to understand that strength is not for hurting, and the critical role they play in preventing violence against women.
- Encourage institutional and societal change.
Source: Denim Day in LA
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2 comments:
wow. i had no idea. But honestly some of those jeans they do look difficult to put on i often times think how the heck could you wear those but for other reason...okay lower my gaze yeh i get it.
I completely forgot today is Denim Day. I think its a great idea and the fact that they could even think that someone would not be raped because of what type of clothing she wears is just sad. There is always a difference between consent and rape.
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