Jeans have come a very long way from their utilitarian beginnings.  In the small gold rush town of San Francisco, during the 19^thcentury, Levis Strauss and Jacob Davis added pockets and rivets to the hard-wearing denim pants. Patenting and launching them into the jeans we know today.

During the 1950s, jeans became the symbol of American teenage rebels, and by the 1970s they were the uniform of youth. In the 1980s, many advertisement campaigns took place. Calvin Klein hired the young Brooke Shields and world-renowned photographer, Richard Avedon for a series of dynamic stills. Throughout the following years, many denim brands appeared. Jeans started as men’s workwear, and today they can be matched with a pair of high heels and look more feminine than wearing a mini skirt.

But, who could have ever thought that a pair of jeans might trigger a whole movement of sexual violence prevention?

Everything started back in 1992 in Italy. An 18-year-old girl was picked up by her 45-year-old driving instructor for her very first lesson. Unfortunately, her excitement ended in a total nightmare. Not only did the instructor rape her but he also threatened that if she told anyone what had happened, he would kill her. When the girl returned home, she told her parents about the harrowing attack, and they pressed charges against him. The driving instructor was prosecuted and sentenced to jail for rape.

But in 1998, he appealed the sentence and made it all the way to the Italian Supreme Court. There the judges decided to release him and accused the victim of consensual sex, since wearing very tight jeans, it would be difficult for the instructor to remove them by himself. The next day, women who were in the Italian Parliament protested by wearing jeans at work, and held signs of “Jeans: An Alibi for Rape.” It was only a matter of days for the news to travel to the other side of the world, in California where the Senate and Assembly followed suit. In Los Angeles in April 1999, the Executive Director of Peace Over Violence made Denim Day an annual event.

Denim Day is observed each year in April.  People of all races and genders wear jeans as a symbol to raise awareness of rape and sexual assault. It paved the way for initiatives such as #metoo and #timesup. These are important social issues that we should be well-informed about, so we can stand up against such salacious and provocative actions.

For once more, a fashion piece with such a long and humble history is helping raise awareness for a serious social problem and has become a symbol of a whole movement. So, every time you wear a pair of jeans, wear them with purpose.