Denim Day at Hampton University 2024

#WhyiweardenimHU24

Denim Day is held annually on college campuses, at government agencies and in cities across the country. The movement began more than 20 years ago in California with an organization called Peace Over Violence (POV) whose members wanted to create a world free of sexual and domestic violence. POV used a controversial ruling in the 1990’s by the Italian Supreme Court to create this awareness campaign. The Italian Supreme Court overturned a rape conviction because the justices felt that the victim, who was wearing tight jeans at the time of the incident, must have helped her rapist remove her jeans, and thus implied consent. The following day, the women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim. Wearing jeans is now a symbol of protest against this ruling and a sign of support for survivors.