Members of the New England District team, in solidarity with survivors of Sexual Assault, wore jeans on National Denim Day, April 27.
“Last year was the first time we participated in this event and members of the New England District team joined me and proudly wore denim as a show of support to survivors,” said Col. John Atilano II, New England District Commander.
National Denim Day started in Italy back in 1992 when an 18-year-old woman was raped by her 45-year-old driving instructor. She reported the rape, and the man was arrested and convicted. Years later, the man appealed the conviction saying that it was not rape at all, but consensual sex. Unbelievably, the Italian Supreme Court overturned the conviction, and the perpetrator was released. The Court argued that because the victim was wearing very tight jeans, she had to help him remove them, and by removing the jeans it was not rape but consensual sex. This became known throughout Italy as the “jeans alibi.”
The following day, the women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim. Denim Day is a campaign sponsored by the nonprofit organization Peace Over Violence to bring awareness to victim blaming and destructive myths that surround sexual violence.
“Sexual misconduct of any sort will not be tolerated at the New England District. I stand with, and support, survivors of sexual assault and as I did last year, I will be wearing denim during the day on April 27,” said Col. Atilano.
According to the CDC, more than 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced sexual violence involving physical contact during their lifetimes.
“That’s a staggering number,” said the District Commander. “The mental consequences of sexual assault linger well after the cuts and bruises have healed. Sometimes they linger for a lifetime, which is why it is important to stop it before it happens. The leadership in the District and I are committed to ensuring that everyone has the freedom to work and thrive in a safe and trusted environment.”
This article appeared in the April 2022 edition of the Yankee Engineer: https://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Portals/74/docs/YankeeEngineer/2022/April2022.pdf
| Date Taken: | 04.27.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 12.21.2022 10:57 |
| Story ID: | 435624 |
| Location: | CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS, US |
| Web Views: | 16 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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