LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The City Council will declare today Denim Day in Los Angeles to recognize the 21st annual campaign to combat sexual violence and support its victims.
Solidarity is the theme of this year's Denim Day, highlighting the ongoing and changing needs of those experiencing domestic, sexual, and interpersonal violence during stay at home orders and social distancing because of the coronavirus pandemic.
A campaign to raise awareness about the challenges faced by sexual assault survivors and the organizations that serve them during the coronavirus pandemic will begin today in connection with Denim Day.
The Demin Day Campaign is the nation's longest-running sexual violence prevention and education campaign, organizers said. It seeks to inspire and mobilizes individuals, communities and institutions by providing tools, messaging and a call to action.
Peace Over Violence, a Los Angeles-based social service agency dedicated to the elimination of sexual and domestic violence and all forms of interpersonal violence, championed Denim Day in Los Angeles in 1999 as part of an international protest following the Italian Supreme Court's decision to overturn a rape conviction.
The victim wore tight jeans, which the justices reasoned the suspect couldn't have removed without her help.
Women in the Italian Parliament began to wear jeans to work in protest of the ruling, and the movement has spread around the world since then.
Denim Day encourages people to wear jeans as a symbol of protest against sexual assault and raise awareness of misconceptions that surround it.