Denim for a cause

It’s a fashion choice that’s inspired by a good cause. Swap your sweats and yoga pants for jean shorts and jeggings on April 27 for National Denim Day, an event dedicated to raising awareness on rape and sexual assault by wearing a pair of jeans.

“This kind of thing happens not just here but nationwide, worldwide and right now the culture worldwide is ‘let me teach you how not to get raped’ when really it should be ‘don’t rape,’” said Lindsay Tuttle, the coordinator for Sexual Assault & Substance Abuse Prevention Education.

According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, rape is the most under-reported crime in the United States. One in five women and one in 71 men are victims of rape in their lifetime. One in every five women and one in every 16 men are sexually assaulted while their college career.

“The goal is to continue to shift that culture. It is up to us as a society to change that culture to ‘don’t rape,’” Tuttle said.

The University of Toledo’s Sexual Assault Education and Prevention Program is hosting their own Denim Day this year and is encouraging students and staff to wear jeans to support awareness about rape and sexual assault.

“Denim Day is one of my favorite days. It is a day in memorial of something that happened in Rome in 1992,” said Lena Salpietro, a graduate assistant working with SAEPP. “A 44 year-old driving instructor was accused by an 18-year-old girl of getting brutally raped and he told her that he would kill her if she went and told anyone.”

The perpetrator was convicted and sentenced to jail, but in 1998 the Italian Supreme Court overturned the conviction because her jeans were very tight.

According to the Denim Day website, in a statement by the Chief Judge, he said, “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.”

Outcry over the judgment was immediate. The women of the Italian Parliament protested the next day, wearing jeans and holding signs that said “Jeans: An Alibi for Rape.”

Soon after the event spread to the United States. The event is now a nationally recognized day which acts as an international symbol of protest against negative attitudes regarding rape and sexual assault.

To help spread the word about Denim Day, the YWCA Hope Center will be in the Student Union from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. to educate people on sexual assault as well as to inform people of the services they provide.

The Hope Center is one of the agencies SAEPP works with. They provide victims of sexual assault with crisis line availability, support groups, scheduled appointments, legal advocacy, hospital appointments and assistance with state compensation claims, as well as temporary housing and financial aid if needed.

Please visit or contact the SAEPP if you need any assistance related to sexual assault, domestic violence, intimate partner violence, stalking or any other issue related to sexual violence in Rocket Hall Room 1810 or call 419-530-3431.