Project Hope’s Denim Day set April 15

Denim Day, part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month activities at ISU, will be held Wednesday, April 15. Participants are encouraged to wear denim jeans in honor of sexual violence survivors.

Denim Day is being sponsored by the Project Hope Advocacy Program and the Janet C. Anderson Gender Resource Center at Idaho State University.

The Denim Day campaign began in 1999 in California as part of an international protest of an Italian High Court decision to overturn a rape conviction because the victim was wearing jeans. The Italian Supreme Court dismissed charges against a 45-year-old rape suspect because his 18-year old victim was wearing jeans at the time of the attack. The Court stated in the decision that “It is common knowledge…that jeans cannot even be partly removed without the effective help of the person wearing them…and it is impossible if the victim is struggling with all her might.”

The judgment sparked a worldwide outcry from those who understand coercion, threats and violence used in the act of rape. The unpopular verdict became an international symbol of myth-based injustice for sexual assault victims.

A Denim Day table will be set up in the Student Union Building. The table will offer more information on Denim Day and sexual assault, and will have buttons and stickers to hand out to supporters.

Denim Day buttons and stickers are available by contacting the Project Hope Advocacy Program or Anderson Gender Resource Center at 282-2805.