For the past 17 years, Peace Over Violence has advocated for the victims of sexual assault, marking their protest on the annual Denim Day, which takes place this year on April 27th, 2016.
The campaign was originally triggered by the outrage surrounding an Italian Supreme Court ruling, where a rape conviction was revisited and subsequently overturned due to the fact the victim was wearing tight jeans. The justices felt that the victim’s tight jeans could only have been removed with the victim’s assistance, thereby implying consent. The following day, the women of the Italian Parliament came to work in jeans in a show of solidarity with the victim. On April 27th, along with official Denim Day sponsor GUESS, we at S/ magazine will wear denim in support of sexual assault victims and survivors around the world.
“The GUESS woman is sexy and confident, but sexy is never an invitation or an excuse to rape.” – Paul Marciano, chief creative officer of GUESS?, Inc.
In honour of Denim Day, the GUESS FOUNDATION has pledged to donate 10% of proceeds from all denim and select accessories sales to Peace Over Violence through April 30, 2016. You too can stand against sexual assault by wearing denim on April 27th, 2016. You can also join the conversation with #DenimDay and #GUESSforProgress as well as registering your promise here: http://denimdayinfo.org.
As a nod to GUESS’s admirable partnership, we’ve rounded up the most iconic GUESS women below.
Images courtesy of GUESS.