01-05-2025
Rockford University raises awareness about sexual assault on Denim Day
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Rockford University raised awareness about sexual assault and advocated for survivors on Denim Day.
Denim Day is a campaign that started in 1999 after the Italian Supreme Court overturned a rape conviction, claiming the victim must have helped her attacker remove her tight jeans, implying consent.
Many women wore jeans the next day to show solidarity.
Rockford University students strung up shirts on a clothesline along with survivors' stories on campus.
One student emphasized the importance of listening to victims and eliminating assumptions around sexual violence.
'I think it's a stigma to think that a man can not be a victim when he can be. Or that a child cannot be a victim because they're too innocent, or that an older person can't be a victim because they're not attractive,' said Sandy Ruiz. I think a lot of these stigmas and stereotypes are still very much prevalent, so I think that's the first place that we need to go, is to have these different levels of people be representatives of sexual assault.'
The school hosted a celebration for its women's flag football team in tandem with Denim Day.
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