Florence Uwaeme
It is national denim day today, 28th April, and here is all you need to know about it.
National Denim day is usually celebrated every April all around the world. The denim day celebration, however, is to dispel the myths surrounding sexual assault and violence. The clothes a person wears, the way they may walk or talk, or even the way they act, are not justifications for sexual assault or violence
According to Wikipedia, the celebration of national denim day started in 1992 in Italy. The story has it that a certain young lady was raped by her driving instructor who took her to a remote place and raped her.
Later that evening, she confided in her parents and they went to the police. The man was arrested, charged, tried, and convicted of rape.
Unfortunately, the story does not end there. A few years later, his appeal reached the Italian supreme court and in a shocking turn of events, the conviction is overturned, and the man is released.
Wondering why the court overturned the judgment? Well, here it is;
They stated in their argument that the girl was wearing tight jeans that could only have been removed with her help, so since they were tight and needed help to be removed it could not have been rape but instead consensual sex.
This overturn of judgment, of course, brought about outrage from women in the parliament who protested the court’s decision by wearing jeans and occupying the court step.
In 1999, the first-ever denim day was held in LA and has since become a global celebration.
