The University of Mississippi’s VIP: Survivor Support Office and student organization Rallying Against Sexual Assault will observe Denim Day as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month on April 24.
Denim Day, which has become the longest-running sexual violence prevention and education campaign in history, urges community members, government leaders, companies and students to wear jeans as a public protest against misunderstandings surrounding sexual assault. This year, RASA will table on the Union Plaza, encouraging faculty, staff and students to participate by wearing jeans.
Cortney Hemphill, Programs Manager for the VIP: Survivor Support, said that Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Denim Day are important to recognize and support survivors.
“Denim Day is one of the events we promote on campus during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. This is a day set aside to support survivors by wearing denim and to eliminate victim blaming,” Hemphill said. “April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, a time to support survivors of gender-based violence and to raise awareness of sexual violence happening in our community.”
Initiated by Peace Over Violence, the campaign began after an Italian Supreme Court ruling overturned a rape conviction due to the victim wearing tight jeans, implying the survivor had to assist in removing her clothing when she was sexually assaulted.
“Enraged by the verdict, the women in the Italian Parliament protested by wearing jeans on the steps of the Supreme Court,” the official Denim Day website said. “This protest was picked up by international media and eventually spread to LA. Inspired, Patti Occhiuzzo Giggans,
Executive Director of Peace Over Violence, thought everyone should be wearing jeans to protest all of the myths about why women are raped.”
Senior psychology major and RASA President Baylie Bishop said that participation in Denim Day allows the student organization to come together and show support for survivors.
“We get to educate on consent and help people understand what consent really is,” Bishop said.“We are able to spread awareness about the issue by wearing denim while showing support for the survivors at the same time. We go to class and work wearing denim, opening up the opportunity for questions and showing the student survivors here that we support them, and they are not alone.”
Bishop feels that her role as president of RASA has changed her perception of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
“Being president of RASA, I have seen firsthand how this issue affects the students on this campus, and it has made me more passionate about it than ever before,” Bishop said. “Sexual assault is something that happens everywhere. Through RASA, I have been able to support survivors more than I ever have in the past, and it has made me realize that this is something I want to do for the rest of my life.”
Bishop said that sexual assault awareness is especially important among college students.
“I feel like most students are unaware of how big of an issue sexual assault is here on our campus. I think it can be hard to believe that sexual assault is something that happens here and not in other places to other people,” Bishop said. “Educating and spreading awareness on this issue is vital for getting people to understand its prevalence in our society and for prevention efforts. The more we educate the student body and the community, the better chance we have at preventing sexual assault.”
Participants are encouraged to tag @umrasa on Instagram and to share photos of themselves wearing denim in support of sexual assault survivors.
