Campus News

For Immediate Release: 

April 16, 2024

What: Rockford University Raising Awareness about Sexual Assault on Denim Day

When: April 24, 2024, from 4 to 6 p.m. 

Where: Sam Greeley Football Field at Rockford University, 5050 E State St, Rockford, IL 61108 

Who: Rockford University students, staff, faculty, and community partners – Remedies Renewing Lives, NAMI, Pregnancy Resource Center, Family Peace Center, Rockford Sexual Assault Counseling (RSAC), OSF Trauma Recovery Center

ROCKFORD, Ill. —Each year, Rockford University holds an event to recognize Denim Day. This year, Denim Day is being put on by a group of students for a class project to raise awareness about sexual assault. The students are hosting a kickball tournament and the participants will be playing in jeans. The community partners will have tables to share their resources with the students.   

The history of Denim Day is as follows: (according to Why Denim? — Denim Day)

“Since 1999, Peace Over Violence has run an inspiring and powerful opportunity to practice solidarity and support survivors by renewing our commitment to exposing harmful behaviors and attitudes surrounding sexual violence. Denim Day is a campaign on a Wednesday in April in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The campaign began after a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court where a rape conviction was overturned because the justices felt that since the victim was wearing tight jeans she must have helped the person who raped her remove her jeans, thereby implying consent. 

The following day, the women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim. Peace Over Violence developed the Denim Day campaign in response to this case and the activism surrounding it. Since then, what started as a local campaign to bring awareness to victim blaming and destructive myths that surround sexual violence has grown into a movement. 

As the longest-running sexual violence prevention and education campaign in history, Denim Day asks community members, elected officials, businesses, and students to make a social statement with their fashion statement by wearing jeans on this day as a visible means of protest against the misconceptions that surround sexual violence.”

The media are invited to attend this event where they can shoot b-roll and/or interview event organizers. We ask all media to RSVP by April 24 at 9 a.m. 

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Questions or interview requests can be sent to SHogshead@Rockford.edu.

Contact:

Sara Myers-Hogshead

RU Marketing & Communications

shogshead@rockford.edu

815.394.5052