By Deja Jones
For The Diamondback
Content warning: This story discusses rape and sexual assault.
University of Maryland community members gathered on McKeldin Mall Wednesday to honor Denim Day and demonstrate support during Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
The event was organized by Campus Advocates Respond and Educate to Stop Violence, a confidential advocacy and education office within the University Health Center. The event aimed to bring awareness to sexual assault and promote campus resources for anyone impacted.
Denim Day encourages people to wear denim in support of sexual assault awareness. The campaign started in 1999 after a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court to overturn a rape conviction where the court claimed because the victim was wearing tight jeans, she must have helped the perpetrator take them off, implying the act was consensual.
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Alyssa McDonnell, an outreach peer with CARE, said the event intended to combat victim blaming and educate community members about sexual violence.
“We’re sending a message to campus, showing that there is violence on this campus, but we’re here to help survivors,” the sophomore criminology and criminal justice major said.
Attendees at Wednesday’s event could stop by interactive stations – including a trivia table and a keychain making table – to learn more about Denim Day’s history and engage in meaningful discussions.
One station gave people the opportunity to decorate and write “messages of support” on denim patches to be displayed, according to CARE outreach peer Charlotte Smyles.
The senior psychology major emphasized the importance of supporting survivors and reframing the discussion around sexual assault.
“Changing the conversation around sexual violence, like being supportive of victims as opposed to attacking things about their character or the way that they were dressed…,” Smyles said. “It’s like none of that should matter, because they were assaulted and we should support them.”
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Jessica Perez, a senior psychology major, decided to check out the event after seeing someone with a Denim Day keychain. The event demonstrated community support on campus and brought attention to sexual assault, she said.
“It’s a topic that isn’t talked about so transparently,” Perez said. “Events like this really make [sexual assault survivors] feel like, ‘It’s not just me.’”
CARE’s advocacy team provides counseling sessions and information on available resources to anyone impacted by sexual violence, according to Smyles. The counselors with CARE are trained specifically in supporting survivors, she said.
CARE’s services are confidential, which differs from other university offices that are mandated reporters, such as the Office of Civil Rights and Sexual Misconduct, Smyles said.
Manasi Deepak, a CARE outreach peer and sophomore biology and public health major, explained some of the services CARE’s office offers.
“We have mental health services and counseling that are free of charge for any survivor,” Deepak said. “If they just wanted to know more about any other resources, they could go to CARE for that.”
