Bailey Thompson | News Editor
While DIY denim coffee mugs and bookmarks might draw people’s attention for being cute, Abby’s House and Alpha Chi Omega had more in mind when they organized a Denim Day event on April 25 in the Werner University Center. Instead of celebrating an iconic fashion contributor, Denim Day is actually a time when people all over the world come together in support of sexual assault survivors.
“Denim Day was created after a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court,” said Lisette Cervantes, Bilingual Advocate Outreach Coordinator at Abby’s House. “An 18-year-old girl was raped, but the conviction was overturned because the Justice felt that, since the victim was wearing tight jeans, that the perpetrator needed help to take them off… so that implied consent. So, the next day, women in the Italian government wore jeans to work in solidarity for the survivor.”
Even though this event happened back in 1992, it is just as important to remember today.
“Denim Day is important for people to recognize and be aware of because, while we would like to say that we as a society have progressed quite a bit in the past 17 years since this original incident, we haven’t come as far as we would like to think sometimes,” said Helen Goodyear, Vice President of Philanthropy for Alpha Chi Omega.
Goodyear also pointed out that, even though the numbers associated with sexual assault conviction can be discouraging, it is important to keep fighting to eradicate this problem in the world around us.
“The goal of Denim Day is to educate people on how they can help be a part of the solution to the issue and can help shut down the pervasive nature of rape culture in our society,” said Goodyear. “We want to recognize that the overturning of sexual assault convictions is something that still happens today and that we can be a part of changing the conversation around sexual assault.”
Cervantes similarly shared that her goal was for people to work towards “breaking down the victim-blaming and showing people how they can be active listeners and advocates as well in their personal life … Start by believing is a big thing in just showing support for people.”
Although not everyone has experienced sexual assault personally, Goodyear shared that there is another reason that people should care: it affects the people around you.
“People we love are afraid to pursue legal action, not because the crimes they are accusing their rapist of are horrendous, but because they don’t want those heinous crimes to reflect back on them negatively as a victim,” said Goodyear.
For anyone at Western who would like to learn more about resources available to survivors, a few of the notable ones include peer advocates and confidential advocates at Abby’s House in the Werner University Center, RAINN, The Sexual Assault Resource Center of Oregon and The Center for Hope and Safety in Salem.
Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu
Photo by Ashlynn Norton
