Every year, on the last Wednesday in April, The Denim Day Campaign is run in honor of Sexual 
Violence Awareness Month. In Italy, in the 1990s, an eighteen year old was forcibly raped by her driving instructor. The case against the perpetrator was overturned, since the judge ruled that he could not have gotten the victims tight jeans off without her assistance. The judge ruled, this did not count as rape. In solidarity, women in the Italian Parliament all wore jeans to work to protest this ruling. Denim Day was created based on this act, and has been in effect for the past 17 years.
On Denim Day, money is raised in order to support those who have suffered from sexual violence, as well as to increase the education on how to handle and prevent sexual violence. Money for educational classes and certifications for the SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) nurses is collected and will be made available for the nurses at Aurora Medical Center Hartford and the Froedtert St. Joseph Hospital in West Bend. The Medical Center Foundation of Hartford is taking part in this campaign to support those who work with victims and those who suffer from sexual violence.
Local businesses in the community will have specially made Denim Day boards that contain more information about the event and the work that is done with the money raised to help educate our SANE nurses in Hartford and West Bend.