Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month: Fort McCoy observes Denim Day with 2-mile walk

Photo By Scott Sturkol | Supervisory Lead Sexual Assault Response Coordinator Penny Carlson with the 88th Readiness Division speaks to Fort McCoy personnel participating in the Denim Day 2-mile Walk on April 30, 2025, held at the Fort McCoy, Wis., Physical Fitness Training Site where there’s a ½-mile track. More than two dozen people participated in the walk. Denim Day is recognized on a Wednesday in April in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The campaign began after a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court to overturn a rape conviction because the justices felt that since the victim was wearing tight jeans, she must have helped the person who raped her remove them, thereby implying consent. Following the reversal, the women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim. (U.S. Army Photo by Scott T. Sturkol/Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office)  

FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES

05.01.2025

Story by Scott Sturkol                                                                                                     

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office           

Fort McCoy held a special event April 30 to observe Denim Day as part of the April observance of Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month at the installation.

Supervisory Lead Sexual Assault Response Coordinator Penny Carlson with the 88th Readiness Division and their Army Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) program team as well as others with the Fort McCoy Garrison SHARP team coordinated the first Denim Day 2-mile Walk on April 30 held at the Fort McCoy Physical Fitness Training Site where there’s a ½-mile track.

So why Denim Day? According to https://denimday.org/why-denim, “since 1999, Peace Over Violence has run an inspiring and powerful campaign to practice solidarity and support survivors by renewing our commitment to exposing harmful behaviors and attitudes surrounding sexual violence.

“Denim Day is recognized on a Wednesday in April in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month,” the website states. “The campaign began after a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court to overturn a rape conviction because the justices felt that since the victim was wearing tight jeans she must have helped the person who raped her remove them, thereby implying consent. Following the reversal, the women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim.”

The website further states, “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 event to bring awareness to victim blaming and destructive myths that surround sexual violence has grown into a worldwide 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.”

For the Fort McCoy Denim Day 2-mile Walk, more than two dozen people participated, including members of the Fort McCoy Garrison command team, to include Deputy Garrison Commander Lt. Col. Mike Corkum, Deputy to the Garrison Commander Cameron Cantlon, and 1st Sgt. Thomas Ninkovich.

“Thank you to everyone for attending and supporting this event,” Cantlon said before the walk began. “It’s important for us to remember what this day represents.”

Participants completed the walk with decent weather. Each participant was also able to take with them information and items to promote SHARP, and more.

According to the Connections for Abused Women and their Children website, https://www.cawc.org, “Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, also known as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, is recognized every April in the United States as a time to raise public awareness about sexual violence and sexual assault prevention. Organizations, advocates, and communities come together to support survivors, promote education, and push for systemic change to reduce the prevalence of sexual assault.”

Organizers say they plan to continue the walk in future observances.

Learn more about SHARP program information and services by visiting their page at the Fort McCoy website at https://home.army.mil/mccoy/my-fort/all-services/sexual-harassment-assault-response-prevention-sharp.

Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.” Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.

The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy,” on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/fortmccoywi, and on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@fortmccoy.

Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”

• Date Taken: 05.01.2025
• Date Posted: 05.01.2025 17:12
• Story ID: 496757
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US