Put Those Jeans On, It’s Denim Day

A lot of things changed, were canceled, and evolved over the past 12-months during COVID-19 and the global pandemic. One thing that many worried about and that statistics showed to be a real problem was abuse-- domestic, sexual, and more. Because a pandemic calls for quarantine, women, children, and all victims in general were really given no choice but to be in homes that may not have been their safe spaces, more.

Today is Denim Day and it as just as important--if not more--than every other year.

So what exactly IS Denim Day? According to the Women's & Children's Alliance of Boise, Denim Day is a "day-long awareness campaign that allows us to honor survivors of sexual assault and start conversations about the dangers of victim blaming".

There's actually a story behind the denim, too.  In 1992, an 18-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by a 45-year-old driving instructor. The man was convicted but eventually, the ruling was overturned because of some denim. The judicial system ruled that because the victim--that 18-year-old girl--was wearing denim. What does that have to do with anything? Well--allegedly, since the victims jeans were "tight", she must has assisted in taking them off, therefore implying consent. This all happened in Italy and now, since 1999, Denim Day has been a tradition on the last Wednesday of April in the United States.

There are a lot of ways for you to get involved:

• Start a conversation with your friends and family--parents, make sure you kids are educated on this for their own safety and the safety of those around them
• Post up on social media to spread the message- today, you can use the hashtag #DenimDay
• Learn more, locally! The WCA here in Boise is a huge resource and you can find out more about them and ways to help, HERE.