On Wednesday, April 30, 2025, second-year undergraduate students of the Communication and Media program attended class wearing denim. With this gesture, they showed their support for Denim Day — a day dedicated to raising awareness about sexual assault.
The initiative began in Italy in 1992. That year, an 18-year-old girl went on her first driving lesson. Her 45-year-old instructor pulled her out of the car, forcibly removed her jeans, and raped her. He was reported and initially sentenced to prison. However, in 1998, after the perpetrator appealed the decision, the case was reopened. The Italian Supreme Court overturned the conviction, reasoning that the victim’s jeans were too tight to have been removed without her assistance. The court concluded that the act was consensual, since, in their view, helping to remove the jeans implied consent.
This ruling sparked outrage, especially among female members of the Italian parliament, who protested by wearing jeans to work the next day, carrying signs that read: “Jeans: An Alibi for Rape.” Their act of solidarity and empathy quickly gained media attention and spread internationally. In 1999, Denim Day was observed for the first time in Los Angeles, and it has since been commemorated annually on the last Wednesday of April.
The initiative began in Italy in 1992. That year, an 18-year-old girl went on her first driving lesson. Her 45-year-old instructor pulled her out of the car, forcibly removed her jeans, and raped her. He was reported and initially sentenced to prison. However, in 1998, after the perpetrator appealed the decision, the case was reopened. The Italian Supreme Court overturned the conviction, reasoning that the victim’s jeans were too tight to have been removed without her assistance. The court concluded that the act was consensual, since, in their view, helping to remove the jeans implied consent.
This ruling sparked outrage, especially among female members of the Italian parliament, who protested by wearing jeans to work the next day, carrying signs that read: “Jeans: An Alibi for Rape.” Their act of solidarity and empathy quickly gained media attention and spread internationally. In 1999, Denim Day was observed for the first time in Los Angeles, and it has since been commemorated annually on the last Wednesday of April.
Lucija Burić
