April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and throughout the month several partners have hosted events to raise awareness, support survivors, and educate the UT Martin campus community.
Today, the Title IX Office hosted one of their final events, Denim and Donuts.
History of Denim Day For the past 24 years, Peace Over Violence has run its Denim Day campaign on a Wednesday in April in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The campaign was originally triggered by a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court where a rape conviction was overturned because the justices felt that since the victim was wearing tight jeans she must have helped her rapist remove her jeans, thereby implying consent. The following day, the women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim. Peace Over Violence developed the Denim Day campaign in response to this case and the activism surrounding it. Since then, wearing jeans on Denim Day has become a symbol of protest against erroneous and destructive attitudes about sexual assault. This rape prevention education campaign seeks to make a social statement with fashion by wearing jeans on this day as a visible means of protest against the misconceptions that surround sexual assault.
*adapted from https://www.peaceoverviolence.org/denim-day
Campus Resources Title IX Office - 212 University Center - 731.881.3505 Student Health and Counseling (Confidential Resource) - 609 Lee Street 731.881.7750 Public Safety - 159 Crisp Hall - 731.881.7777
Community Resources Women's Resource and Rape Assistance Program (WRAP) 1.800.273.8712 (24-hour hotline) www.wraptn.org/contact-us