NIAGARA FALLS AIR RESERVE STATION, N.Y. -- 914th Air Refueling Wing civilian and Reserve Citizen Airmen observed "Jeans 4 Justice" on April 25, 2016 as part of Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month (SAAPM).
The campaign, "Jeans 4 Justice" or “Denim Day” began as a response to an Italian Supreme Court ruling of a rape case. The ruling dismissed the case because the victim had been wearing tight jeans at the time of the incident and, the ruling held, she would have had to assist in the removal of the jeans, thereby making the act consensual.
Following the ruling, women in the Italian Parliament protested by wearing jeans to work. The first official “Denim Day” took place in Los Angeles, California in April 1999.
By wearing jeans in observance of "Jeans 4 Justice", participants raise awareness of the often false and destructive attitudes surrounding the subject of sexual assault.