Students on all four campuses wore denim and large gold stickers Tuesday to participate in ASU’s 10th annual Denim Day, an event hosted by ASU Wellness.
Denim Day is an international protest designed to spread awareness about sexual violence.
ASU Wellness Director Karen Moses said the day got its name from a 1998 Italian rape case in which the suspected rapist used the defense that the woman he had sexual relations with was wearing tight jeans, making it impossible for him to have removed them without her help or consent.
She said the judge ruled the woman had not been raped in light of the defense.
“The women in the Italian parliament began immediately wearing jeans to work to protest the verdict,” Moses said.
She said she hoped the event would help to raise awareness and prevent sexual violence from happening.
“Through events like Denim Day, we can increase awareness of what to do when sexual assault occurs,” Moses said. “We can decrease the fears associated with reporting (sexual assault) by helping people understand what it entails and the benefits reporting can produce.”
She said the event, which also takes place during Sexual Assault Awareness Month, would ultimately benefit the entire community.
“It's important that perpetrators are brought to justice so that they will not harm others,” Moses said.
ASU Wellness intern and an exercise and wellness senior Emily Nicoll said she was excited to help pass out stickers to students on the Tempe campus.
“This is a really good thing that (ASU Wellness) is doing,” Nicoll said. “It's a really good way to get people's attention with a bright yellow sticker to protest sexual violence.”
She said students had a positive reaction to the awareness event.
“Lots of people were willing to wear a sticker to protest sexual violence,” Nicoll said. "When you see someone else wearing a sticker, you're more likely to take one yourself. The more we gave out the more people were receptive to it."
She said it's important to promote grassroots movements such as Denim Day among the student body to create understanding about sexual violence across the four campuses.
“I think (Denim Day) is about awareness and understanding,” Nicoll said. “(Sexual violence) is something that happens to a lot of people and you're not alone in it.”
Chemistry and biochemistry graduate student Bobby Schmitz, who wore a sticker, said the event helped to promote awareness about sexual violence not only to the global community but more importantly to the University community.
“(Sexual violence) is definitely something that you hear about on campus,” Schmitz said. “It's important that other people can see that other people support this besides women.”
He said supporting global initiatives such as Denim Day shows how worldwide sexual violence needs to be addressed.
“Anything like (Denim Day) really gives credence that people are people all around the world,” Schmitz said. “We're not just defined by the politics of our countries.”
Reach the reporter at dgrobmei@asu.edu
