Showing their support for sexual assault victims, GWC staff, faculty and students came together on Wednesday, April 27th for Denim Day. The Intercultural Program and the Office of Student Life and Leadership coordinated a group photo in the Amphitheater to bring awareness to the campus about this annual event.
The Denim Day campaign was originally triggered by a ruling in 1998 by the Italian Supreme Court where a rape conviction was overturned because the justices felt that since the victim was wearing tight jean, she must have helped her rapist remove them, thereby implying consent. The following day, the women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim. Since then, wearing jeans on Denim Day has become a symbol of protest against erroneous and destructive attitude about sexual assault.
Other events for the week included:
- The Clothesline Project, featuring t-shirts hung across the quad displaying words and artwork reflecting encouraging words and thoughts of those that have experienced violence at the hands of others
- Consent Fair in the Student Center hosted various groups sharing resource and information about sexual assault prevention
- Take Back the Night event where students came together for a candlelight vigil and procession across the campus to promote solidarity and support to survivors of violence and abuse
Leading up to Denim Day, various departments took photos and shared them at #denimday and #gearup.
View gallery of department photos
