In Rome in 1997, a 45-year-old driving instructor was accused of rape.  It is alleged that when he picked up an 18-year-old girl for her first driving lesson, he raped her for an hour, then told her that if she was      to tell anyone he would kill her. Later that night she told her parents and her parents agreed to help her press charges. While the alleged rapist was convicted and sentenced, the Italian Supreme Court overturned the conviction in 1998 because the victim wore tight jeans. It was argued that she must have necessarily have had to help her attacker remove her jeans, thus making the act consensual (“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 Italian Supreme Court stated in its decision “it is a fact of common experience that it is nearly impossible to slip off tight jeans even partly without the active collaboration of the person who is wearing them.

This ruling sparked widespread protest. The day after the decision, women in the Italian Parliament protested by wearing jeans and holding placards that read “Jeans: An Alibi for Rape.” As a sign of support, the California Senate and Assembly followed suit. Soon Patricia Giggans, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women, made Denim Day an annual event. Wearing jeans on this day has become an international symbol of protest against erroneous and destructive attitudes about sexual assault.

Why not show your support for survivors of sexual assault by organizing a Denim Day at your office or school on Wednesday, April 24, 2013?  Copy the above graphic and print on name tags.  Make it a fundraiser for HCWC by asking employees to donate $5 each for the privilege of wearing jeans that day.  Take a photo and send it to HCWC to post on Facebook. Be sure to include your school or company name. For more information, please contact Charles Vestal at (512) 396-3404 or cvestal@hcwc.org.