TAHLEQUAH, Oklahoma – Domestic violence and sexual assault advocates in Northeastern Oklaoma supported survivors by donning blue jeans and jackets on Wednesday, April 27 for Denim Day.

Denim Day is internationally known because the Italian Supreme Court overturned a rape conviction in 1992 due to the victim’s wearing tight-fitting jeans at the time. The court argued the woman must have helped the rapist remove the jeans, and justices believed that implied consent. That became known as the “jeans alibi.”

Women of the Parliament wore jeans to work the next day in solidarity with the victim. Thankfully, the court changed its ruling and the perpetrator was convicted of rape.

The first Denim Day was held in 1999 and continues to be held every April since then.

Laura Kuester, executive director at Help In Crisis, said it all comes back to victim-blaming: what she was wearing, how much did she have to drink, why did the victim go to the perpetrator’s house, or are they sure it wasn’t a misunderstanding.

“These are just a few examples of the questions that survivors of sexual violence commonly have to field,” said Kuester. “These questions might come from police officers or lawyers, from friends or family members or partners, or – if they speak out about their experiences publicly – from complete strangers.”

She said the framing of the questions may be different each time, but the message is always the same.

“When people ask them, they are implicitly or explicitly asking the survivor, ‘How can we make what happened your fault?’’’ said Kuester.

Denim Day is celebrated in April to shine a spotlight on Sexual Assault Awareness Month. It gives men and women the opportunity to address sexual violence and victim blaming statements.

“We still have a long way to go, and here are some things you can do. When survivors share their stories publicly, they are often told they were ‘asking for’ what happened to them, or given unsolicited advice on how to avoid getting assaulted in the future,” said Kuester.

According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, an American is sexually assaulted every 68 seconds, and one out of every six American women has been a victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime.

Krys Havenar, victim services coordinator for HIC, said the day marks a stance against victim-blaming and the culture of sexual assault.

“If you think about it, it started back in 1993, and we would hope we had come a lot further than this by now,” Havenar said. “We still see it with the Brock Turner case and in the court systems, college campuses, families and friends all the time. It’s still a problem.”

Turner was caught sexually assaulting an unconscious woman when he was 19 years old on the Stanford University campus in 2015. He was convicted of assault with intent to rape an intoxicated woman, sexually penetrating an intoxicated person with a foreign object, and sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object.

Turner was sentenced to six months in jail with three years of probation, but was released after serving half his sentence for “good behavior.” He is permanently registered as a sex offender. Turner’s father reportedly said the sentence was a “steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of [Turner’s] 20-plus years of life.”

Due to the backlash of the sentencing, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky was eventually recalled by voters during the June 5, 2018, primary election.

“Even if you would never dream of telling someone they were ‘asking for it,’ you might be perpetuating victim-blaming in more subtle ways. Though it’s most visible online, victim-blaming can and does happen in all kinds of settings,” said Kuester.

All services provided by HIC are free and confidential for victims. The shelter serves victims in four counties: Adair, Sequoyah, Cherokee, and Wagoner. HIC services include counseling, domestic violence education groups, and a variety of classes for parents.

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For more information on the services provided by Help In Crisis, 205 N. College Ave., or to donate, visit www.helpincrisisinc.org or call 918-456-0673. The Crisis Hotline number is 800-300-5321.