Sexual violence is defined as a sexual act committed against someone without that person's freely given consent. There is an average of 293,066 victims of rape and sexual assault each year. Sixty-eight percent of sexual assaults are not reported to the police. Approximately 4 out of 5 of rapes were committed by someone known to the victim. Sexual violence can have psychological, emotional, and physical effects on a survivor. These effects aren’t always easy to deal with, but with the right help and support they can be managed. It’s hard to know what to do, how to feel, or what your options are after a sexual assault. Please know that you’re not alone. Your safety is important. What happened was not your fault. Something happened to you that you didn’t want to happen and that’s not OK.

April was Sexual Violence Awareness Month. Sexual Assault Awareness Month is an annual campaign to raise public awareness about sexual assault and educate communities and individuals on how to prevent sexual violence.

On a Wednesday in April, the organization Peace Over Violenceruns a campaign called Denim Day. They have been running this campaign for 17 years. The campaign was started because of a ruling that the Italian Supreme Court made in 1999 where a rape conviction was over turned because the justices felt that since the victim was wearing tight jeans she must have helped her rapist remove her jeans, therefore giving consent. An 18-year-old girl was picked up by her married 45-year-old driving instructor. He took her to an isolated road, pulled her out of the car, and wrestled her out of one leg of her jeans and forcefully raped her. He forced her to drive home and threatened her with death if she told anyone. She later told her parents, who helped her press charges. The driving instructor was convicted, but he ended up appealing the sentence. The case was overturned, dismissed, and the perpetrator was released. The Chief Judge made a statement claiming, “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.” The day following this ruling, the women in the Italian Parliament wore jeans to work in solidarity with the victim.

In response to this case and the activism around it, Peace Over Violence developed the Denim Day campaign. Wearing jeans on Denim day is a symbol of protest against the flawed and mistaken attitudes about sexual assault. Community members, businesses, students, and other participants are asked to make a social statement with their fashion by wearing jeans on this day as a visible means of protest against the misconceptions about sexual assault. This year Denim Day was on April 27, 2016. People around the world participated by wearing jeans to take a stand.

If you are a victim of sexual assault, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673). They will provide you with support and guidance on what to do after you have been a victim of sexual violence.