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WEAR JEANS AND PREVENT VIOLENCE, DENIM DAY 2012!

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by Armelle Djoukoue

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEsL_XVJ8mQ&feature=relmfu[/youtube]

In Italy in 1998, an 18-year old girl was picked up by her married 45-year old driving instructor for her very first lesson. He took her to an isolated road, dragged her out of the car, wrestled her out of her jeans and forcefully raped her. The offender was arrested and prosecuted.  The case made it all the way to the Italian Supreme Court and within a matter of days the case was dismissed. The driving instructor was released in a statement by the Chief Judge, which said “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.”  As news of the judge’s decision spread women in Italy and all over the world joined in proteset. In 1999 the state of California established the first Denim Day in the United States. The Denim Day campaign rasies awareness and promotes education about rape and sexual assault. 

To prevent sexual assault, each year the UMKC Women’s Center holds a Denim Day display and encourages students, staff and community members to wear jeans.  Check out our Denim Day display on campus today April 25th, in the quad.  There are NO excuses for sexual violence!  It is time to raise awareness, it is time to let the victims know that they’re not alone and it’s never their fault. So how can you raise Sexual Assault Awareness this April?  Simple, wear your favorite pair of jeans and make a statement!

Check out our event page for Denim Day! https://www.facebook.com/events/271488952914506/

For more information about the UMKC Women’s Center and our upcoming events please visit our website: http://www.umkc.edu/womenc/ or call us at (816) 235-1638