People around the world wear denim on Denim Day, a campaign held in April each year for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, in solidarity and support of survivors of sexual assault. Denim Day 2025 is Wednesday, April 30. Gators are encouraged to wear denim on that day, and UHD Title IX/Equal Opportunity Officer Brandon Lee invites the campus community to drop by the Title IX/Equal Opportunity Office (Suite S370, OMB) to pick up a sticker to wear to show support.
What’s the significance of wearing denim? This campaign began following a 1992 ruling by the Italian Supreme Court in which a rape conviction was overturned. The justices felt consent was implied because the victim was wearing tight jeans. The following day, the women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim. Since then, what started as a local campaign to bring awareness to victim blaming and destructive myths that surround sexual violence has grown into a movement.
Peace Over Violence developed the Denim Day campaign in response to this case and the activism surrounding it. Since then, what started as a local campaign to bring awareness to victim blaming and destructive myths that surround sexual violence has grown into a movement. As the longest running sexual violence prevention and education campaign in history, Denim Day asks community members, elected officials, businesses, and students to make a social and fashion statement by wearing jeans on this day.