What is Denim Day and Why Does It Matter?
(David McNew/Getty)
Content Warning: Sexual Assault
The Start of Denim Day: The Jeans Alibi
In 1992, in Rome, an 18-year-old girl was taking a driving lesson when her 45-year-old male driving instructor sexually assaulted her. She reported the assault to the police, and the rapist was arrested, prosecuted, convicted of rape, and sentenced to 34 months in jail. Seven years later, the rapist appealed his sentence, claiming that the two had consensual sex. The case eventually went all the way to the Italian Supreme Court. Despite significant evidence on the side of the plaintiff, the Court ultimately ruled in favor of the perpetrator, and reasoned that “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 conviction was overturned and the rapist was released shortly after. Later, this argument became known in Italy as the “jeans alibi,” or that a woman cannot be raped if she is wearing jeans because they are “impossible to remove unless she helps.”
After this shocking decision, Alessandra Mussolini, a conservative member of Parliament, protested the Court’s decision by wearing denim jeans in solidarity with the victim. Multiple female Italian Parliament members across all political parties joined Mussolini in wearing denim jeans until the decision was changed. This protest eventually led to international protests and a recognized day to fight against the stigma and myths surrounding sexual violence. Denim jeans became the symbol for this movement, hence the name, “Denim Day.”
Denim Day Today
Denim Day has been celebrated for over 20 years, ever since the court decision was made in 1999. Denim Day has become a campaign to stand in solidarity with sexual violence survivors and against apologists of sexual violence perpetrators. It is also the longest-standing sexual violence prevention and education campaign in history.
Since the start, Denim Day was run by Peace Over Violence (POV), a nonprofit organization dedicated to “building healthy relationships, families, and communities free from sexual, domestic and interpersonal violence.” Headquartered in Los Angeles, POV was established in 1971 and has been committed to its mission ever since. POV is not just focused on the prevention of sexual violence, but on education as well. POV hosts several comprehensive education campaigns every year, dedicated to spreading awareness on all forms of sexual violence in all shapes and forms. They also provide counseling and trauma services for survivors of sexual violence. However, despite all that Denim Day and POV have contributed to the fight against sexual violence, there is still a lot of work to be done worldwide.
Sexual Violence Worldwide
The statistics on sexual violence worldwide are shocking, especially considering it is an issue that affects everyone. Survivors respond to their trauma in different ways, but the emotional turmoil it takes on them and those around them is immense — survivors can develop severe emotional and mental health responses, which can further isolate them from society. Examples of these responses include lack of impulse control, PTSD, difficulty concentrating, substance abuse, and more. Women who are subject to sexual violence are 1.5 times more likely to have a sexually transmitted infection. Not only are victims subject to physical health issues, but are also more likely to have mental health issues, such as PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Due to this, women are less likely to participate in society, both socially and economically, leading to an even greater disparity between men and women. Sexual violence also comes with a financial cost: around 50% of rape survivors either lost or were forced to resign from their jobs due to their specific response to their trauma. In 1996 alone, the cost of sexual assault cases resulted in $127 billion, a number that includes medical healthcare services, criminal justice services, mental health services, and the cost of survivors being forced to leave their workplace. In communities worldwide, sexual violence cases lead to an overall increase in fear or paranoia. There are also many cultural biases and stigmas against speaking about sexual violence, one that can lead survivors into feeling shame or guilt for a trauma they are not responsible for. While sexual violence hurts all communities, it predominantly harms women. About one in three women worldwide have been victim to and will be subject to sexual violence by either an intimate partner or non-partner at least once in their lifetime. Close to 40% of all murders of women are committed by their intimate partners.
The consequences of these numbers have seriously negative ramifications on women. This increasing gender disparity only furthers the current gendered economic divide: in 2018 alone, the poverty rate for American women was over 2% higher than that of American men. This statistic is reflected worldwide, with women already earning, on average, 68% of what men make annually. Not only does sexual violence perpetuate this gap, but when women are not able to fully and actively participate in society, society as a whole loses out on the economic and social support that women can provide.
Sexual violence case numbers are high for several reasons, one of them being a lack of sex education. Studies have shown that comprehensive sexuality and sexual health education that is given to pre-college students is effective in preventing sexual assault in college. When students are taught about topics such as consent, this decreases their chance of being assailants and victims of sexual violence. It is for these reasons that the Denim Day campaign focuses on education — because education is one of the most effective ways to enact change.
Campaigns such as Denim Day and POV are just some of the many organizations that are dedicated to fighting sexual violence worldwide. However, more work must be done in order to decrease these staggering numbers.
Why Does Denim Day Matter?
Around the world, conversations on sexual violence and how to prevent it are highly stigmatized and made taboo. Misogynistic language and beliefs encourage and perpetuate false beliefs around sexual violence. This phenomenon is known as “rape culture.” Rape culture can manifest in many ways. From blaming and shaming the victim to tolerating, or even supporting, sexual assailants, rape culture makes it difficult for survivors to come forward and makes it easier for sexual violence to continue. This mindset can also pit criminal justice systems against victims, such as the 1998 Italian Supreme Court, instead of doing their jobs in defending and supporting victims. The vast majority of rape cases go unreported, and many of those that are reported do not get the justice they deserve which is, at least in part, due to this toxic culture.
Campaigns like Denim Day are important for this very reason: to fix this injustice. Denim Day does more than just bring awareness to this subject, it actively educates and provides tangible and physical support to communities. It is important to have campaigns like these because there is an extreme lack of support for survivors. And when the number of sexual violence cases is this high, and the ramifications this extreme, we must be actively fighting to stop this. Having a specialized campaign and group dedicated to this cause gives people something to follow, which is beneficial, especially for those who want to fight against sexual violence but do not know where to start. While the cultural stigma against discussing sexual violence and prevention is strong, the consequences of staying silent are worse. This is what campaigns like Denim Day started fighting for and are still fighting for. Wearing denim on Denim Day is one easy and simple way to join this fight.
This year, Denim Day is on April 27th.