Harvard Wears Denim

Yesterday, April 29, we had the pleasure of working with the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response at Harvard University. They encouraged students, staff and faculty to wear denim as a symbol of protest against the Italian courts (full story below).

See the photos from their ShutterBooth here!

Wear Denim Story:
In Rome in 1997, a rapist was convicted and sentenced, but the Italian Supreme Court overturned the conviction in 1998 because the survivor had been wearing tight jeans when assaulted. It was argued that she must have helped the perpetrator remove her jeans, thus making the act consensual. This ruling sparked widespread protest. The day after the decision, women in the Italian Parliament protested by wearing jeans and holding placards that read “Jeans: An Alibi for Rape.” Wearing jeans on this day has since become an international symbol of protest against erroneous and destructive attitudes about sexual violence.

Harvard Wears Denim Facebook page here.