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Denim Day was born out of a 1998 Italian Supreme Court decision that overturned a rape conviction of an 18-year-old student, finding that the denim jeans she was wearing were so tight that she would have had to help take them off, implying consent.

 

The decision sparked international outrage, and as a result, wearing jeans has become a symbol of awareness that what someone wears is never an excuse for rape or sexual assault.

 

In 2009, the New Jersey Senate voted unanimously to adopt joint resolution AJR 101/SJR 67 designating April 28th as Denim Day to raise awareness about rape and sexual assault. Denim Day is intended to invite public discourse on the topic, to make it possible for more survivors to reach out and find help, and to advance the prevention of such crimes.