Ask Me Why I Am Wearing Jeans?

Wilmington, NC WECT- Ask me why I'm wearing jeans - that was the message on stickers worn by students and faculty at UNCW Wednesday.

UNCW's C.A.R.E. organization sponsored Denim Day 2015, a campaign that raises community awareness about the devastating impacts of sexual violence and how you can help bring these issues to light.

Denim Day began in the 90s when an 18-year-old in Italy was raped by her driving instructor. She pressed charges and won her case, but the instructor appealed and the case went to the Italian High Court.

The conviction was overturned in 1999 when the defense claimed his victim gave consent because she was wearing jeans that were too tight to remove on her own; therefore, the victim must have willingly participated.

During the trial, women in the Italian Legislature protested the plea by wearing tight jeans.

The goal of the day of protest is to bring attention to myths, stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding sexual assaults. While the myths change overtime, Dr. Rebecca Caldwell, the Director of Substance Abuse & Violence Prevention said they still exist.

"We still as a society believe a lot of rape myths - whether those are myths like if a woman was drinking or if she was wearing an outfit that other people found provocative, or you name it. They shift over time and may be different in different cultures but ultimately rape myths continue to exist and they continue to be a roadblock for people to seek help, for people to be believed and for and to create a safer environment for all people when it comes to issues of sexual violence and sexual assault."

Dr. Caldwell said it is especially important to bring attention to the myths on college campuses. "I think college campuses have their own particular rape myths that do get believed and it is important for us to address them, sometimes we know the big ones and we know things that we should not say and there are maybe other ones kind of subtly functioning under the surface," Dr. Caldwell said. "Of course, it is an environment in which we really making a very concerted effort to change the environment around sexual violence for the campus and hopefully graduating a whole new generation of people that will not continue to perpetrate those myths."

Denim Day campaigns are sponsored by organizations around the world to show support of survivors and raise awareness.

Credit:http://www.wect.com/story/28931242/ask-me-why-im-wearing-jeans

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