United Way of the Ouachitas participates in Denim Day
In 1992 in Rome, Italy, an 18-yearold girl was raped by the 45-year-old driving instructor who was taking her to her very first driving lesson, according to the United Way of the Ouachitas website.
He took her to an isolated road, pulled her out of the car, removed her jeans and forcefully raped her. After she reported the rape the perpetrator was arrested, prosecuted, convicted of rape and sentenced to jail.
In 1999, the driving instructor appealed the sentence, claiming they had consensual sex. The case made it to the Italian High Court where the conviction was overturned and he was released, the website reads.
“A statement from the Court argued that because the victim wore very tight jeans, she had to help him remove them, and by removing the jeans it was no longer rape but consensual sex,” according to the website. “This became known throughout Italy as the ‘jeans alibi.’ Enraged by the verdict, the women in the Italian Parliament pro
tested by wearing jeans on the steps of the Supreme Court. This protest was picked up by international media and eventually spread to (Los Angeles). Inspired, Patti Occhiuzzo Giggans, executive director of Peace Over Violence, thought everyone should be wearing jeans to protest all of the myths about why women are raped.”
This protest, established as Denim Day on April 29, 1999, has been carried on through the years and was picked up by United Way of the Ouachitas last year, marking Wednesday the second Denim Day the organization will encourage the community to participate in.
“Wearing denim, even if it’s just to empower yourself, or you want to take a picture of yourself and post on Facebook, or to share with whoever, I think even if you want to do denim silently, at least you’re taking the first step to say ‘There’s no excuse, and there’s never an invitation to rape,’” UWO Executive Director Sarah Fowler said.
Fowler, who also serves on the Garland County Human Trafficking Task Force, said she felt participating in Denim Day was another way for not only the United Way, but other individuals throughout the community, to educate themselves on these circumstances.
The organization offers Denim Day stickers in its office located at 233 Hobson Ave., and printable Denim Day “action signs” on its website http://www.unitedwayouachitas.org.
Participants are encouraged to take a sticker or action sign and hold it up while wearing denim on Wednesday for a photo to post on social media while using the hashtag #UWDenimDay or #DenimDay, and tag @UWOuachita.
“Just to let people know ‘Hey, we’re making a social statement with our fashion today by wearing denim’ and saying ‘rape is not allowed in the culture we live in,’” Fowler said.
Sexual violence is an unfortunate reality among all communities, and Fowler said the pandemic has worsened the threat of it.
“If we just read The Sentinel-Record we know that there have been many domestic violence issues that have been taking place, so a lot of time confinement can actually be more harmful for individuals of not only domestic violence, but human trafficking as well, so we really hope for these individuals we can open up soon so this suffering can come to an end,” she said.
“When you can’t get out and about in public and you’re confined in that space, the opportunity for you to maybe ask for help, or if someone asks you if you need help for you to have the opportunity to reach out, that’s very limited.
“And we also know,” Fowler continued, “that in many instances it takes individuals multiple times to be offered assistance just because of the mental mindset and grooming and things that come with that; it’s not just ‘Oh, you’re in a bad place let me help you.’ Typically that’s not it because they know what life in their world looks like because getting help or leaving that situation is unknown and not knowing what the future’s going to hold is very uncertain for them because although the life they’re living in is very detrimental, they know what potentially tomorrow’s going to bring.”
She said the United Way, as an organization, can bring awareness to that and let the community know that sexual violence does happen and that they’re here to assist with it.
“I feel like that’s our role in being that community partner and facilitator,” Fowler said.