In 1997 Italy, a young woman was raped by her 45-year-old driving instructor. The rapist was convicted and sent to prison. But when he appealed his case, the Italian Supreme Court overturned his conviction because the victim wore tight jeans. The argument said she must have helped the rapist take off her jeans, because it would have been impossible for the perpetrator to force them off, and by doing so she consented to the sex.
“I don’t care how sexist you are,” said Virginia Solan, coordinator of Violence Prevention Programs for the University of Idaho Women’s Center. “When you hear that you’re like, ‘Excuse me? … Really?'”
Outraged about the ruling fueled a national protest, which spread to the U.S. Multiple states recognize April 23 as Denim Day. Participants wear jeans to recognize the day, but Violence Prevention Programs is going even further to spread awareness about sexual assault.
From 12-2 p.m. Wednesday in the Idaho Commons Plaza, Violence Prevention Programs will set up a demonstration featuring five to seven men and women wearing jeans and holding signs about victim blaming and sexual assault. Solan’s intern Nick Dimico, helped set up the display. Dimico has recognized Denim Day, since his first involvement with the holiday at North Idaho College.
“It’s not necessarily about the statement as much as awareness,” Dimico said. “We try to bring awareness to the cause.”
Solan said the point of Denim Day is to recognize the absurdity of victim blaming.
“It’s about saying what people wear, and where they go, and what they drink is inviting a crime, a felony or assault, and how ludicrous that really is,” Solan said. “The whole idea about the judge saying that the victim was guilty because her jeans were so tight she would have had to have assisted the rapist. That disregards things like implied threat.”
Solan said victim blaming has been around forever. She said often victims prefer to blame themselves, because it allows them to feel a certain level of control. If a victim thinks they were raped because of the clothes they were wearing, or how much they had to drink, they can change their habits and therefore avoid being assaulted in the future, Solan said.
With the discussion of victim blaming, comes the subject of consent. Solan said her definition of consent is “an enthusiastic yes,” but said many people regard the concept as “blurry,” because no one ever wants to talk about it. She said she’s actually surprised there are so many decent men in society, because the culture sends a message to men that all women want to be dominated. She gave the example of a commercial for Belvadere vodka, which features a woman being dragged away by a man. The commercial says, “Unlike some people, Belvadere always goes down smoothly.”
Solan said the biggest consequence with the definition of consent being so confusing, is that the confusion acts as a defense for those accused of sexual assault. She said there are very few cases where the rapist is confused, even though a lot of people defend the attackers by saying it wasn’t clear whether their partner was consenting or not.
“If we had a clear language of consent, I think we would have a way happier people,” Solan said.
Solan said the strategy most people take for recognizing Denim Day is to simply start a conversation. She said she hopes once students start listening to this story, it will open their eyes to the impact it has.
“I think students should pay attention to the issue because it’s important,” Dimico said. “Rape is caused in so many different ways and we also have to be aware that these issues are out there. I think students should care, because this isn’t something that just affects one person it affects everyone.”
Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected]