Denim Day in Winnemucca 2016!
Make a Statement with
Your Fashion Statement- Wear Denim in Support of Survivors!
Help Dispel the Myths
Surrounding Sexual Violence!
Denim Day in USA will be held this year
on April 27, 2016 . This campaign gives people the chance to make
a social statement with their fashion statement while supporting survivors of
sexual assault and spreading awareness about sexual violence. AVA will be continuing their support as registered participants
for their 9th year by providing free ribbons to the community.
It all began in Italy , 1990: An
18-year old girl is picked up by her married 45-year old driving instructor for
her very first lesson. He takes her to an isolated road, pulls her out of the
car, wrestles her out of one leg of her jeans and forcefully rapes her.
Threatened with death if she tells anyone, he makes her drive the car home.
Later that night she tells her parents, and they help and support her to press
charges. The perpetrator gets arrested and is prosecuted. He is convicted of
rape and sentenced to jail.
He
appeals the sentence. The case makes it’s all the way to the Italian Supreme
Court. Within a matter of days the case against the driving instructor is
overturned, dismissed, and the perpetrator released. In a statement by the
Chief Judge, he argued, “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.”
Enraged
by the verdict, within a matter of hours the women in the Italian Parliament
launched into immediate action and protested by wearing jeans to work. This
call to action motivated and emboldened the California Senate and Assembly to
do the same, which in turn spread to Patricia Giggans, Executive Director of
Peace Over Violence, and Denim Day in LA was born. The first Denim Day in LA
was in April 1999, and has continued every year since.
Organized annually by
Peace Over Violence, Denim Day in LA and Denim Day USA recall an Italian court
case that sparked international outrage when judges did not convict a rapist
because the victim wore jeans. The judges ruled that because the victim was
wearing tight jeans, she must have helped her attacker remove them, thus
implying consent.
Since then, Denim Day in
LA and Denim Day USA has grown to become a national movement held annually
during April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
“RAPE IS A GLOBAL
EPIDEMIC,” “WHEN DATING BECOMES DANGEROUS” and “NO EXCUSE” are three of the
sexual assault excuses highlighted in the ads, which are designed to inspire a critical
dialogue about violence prevention. Materials are available for purchase and to
find or create an event in your area, check out their site at: Http://Denimdayinfo.org
Across America , every two and a half minutes,
someone is sexually assaulted. One in six American women have been the victim
of attempted rape or completed rape. 82.8% of intimate partner rapes are NOT
reported to law enforcement. This statistic also applies to Winnemucca. Then
why aren’t many reported to law enforcement? There are several reasons and the
biggest one being that the victim often knows the offender. There are worries
of retaliation, fear the victim “led him on”, humiliation, and embarrassment.
In a small town like ours, the word gets out quickly. Would you, readers, want
everyone knowing about the worst, most invasive and very personal moment of
your life?
Another reason is sexual assault exams are not performed locally in
Winnemucca. A victim would have to travel to Reno for an exam. After a traumatic and very painful experience,
many victims do not want to sit in a vehicle for that long to go through yet,
another painful experience. Additionally, when a victim does choose to have a
sexual assault kit done, they cannot urinate, defecate, eat, drink, chew gum,
smoke, wash any part of their body, brush their teeth, or change clothing until after the kit is completed. Keep in
mind, they must wait until the time of their appointment in Reno (sexual
assault exams are no longer considered emergency, as they are often made by
appointment now), complete the exam (which can take up to three hours), then
drive back to Winnemucca to shower and rest. The reason for this is sexual
assault kits are done to assist in investigation and prosecution of the
offender. The victim is the crime scene. As a practice in
empathy, can you, readers, understand why some victims choose not to go through
this process?
The AVA is working to expel the myths surrounding sexual violence
and help survivors understand that rape is never their fault. No circumstances,
whether the couple is in a relationship, how the victim was dressed, whether
alcohol or other drugs were ingested: nothing excuses sexual violence.
For more information about Peace Over Violence and Denim
Day USA, please visit www.denimdayinla.org, http://www.peaceoverviolence.org or www.humboldtava.com, or email humboldtava@sbcglobal.net
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