Vincennes University staff and students took part in Denim Day on Wednesday.

Denim Day is an international awareness day held annually on the fourth Wednesday in April, meant to raise awareness for sexual assault. It began in Italy in 1992 after a sexual assault case was dismissed because the victim was wearing skin-tight jeans.

The outrage and public backlash of this ruling was significant and led to denim, for a time, being a symbol of protest against the ruling, which has lived on to this day and has spread across the world.

On campus, students and staff alike were encouraged by the Vincennes University Counseling Center to wear denim for the day as a way of raising awareness for sexual
assault victims around the world.

Kathleen Evans, a mental health counselor at the counseling center, hopes to raise awareness for sexual violence in more ways than just Denim Day.

“Our goal is to let people know they’re not alone,” said Evans. “It’s our job to protect people and make them feel safe.”

Evans encourages any student who is struggling to reach out for help, whether it be to an on-campus resource or a third party, such as Hope’s Voice; she believes advocacy is for everyone.

Most of all, she wants to bring hope to those who are struggling, and even if it is something as simple as a pair of jeans, it can mean a lot to certain people.