In late April every year, millions of people across the world sport denim to show solidarity with victims of sexual assault and violence. Denim day began in Italy in 1999 and was prompted when a rape conviction was overturned because the judge ruled that the victim’s jeans were too tight for her not to have consented. Injustices like this are common in cases of sexual assault.

According to the anti-sexual assault nonprofit RAINN, the vast majority of sexual assault perpetrators will not face any punishment. Immediately after the ruling, women in the Italian parliament began wearing jeans in solidarity. This spread quickly to the U.S. when members of the California State Senate began doing the same. Since then denim has been sported by participants to show that clothing is never consent. 

Brentwood’s Feminist Coalition participated for the second year in a row and held a meeting to discuss sexual harassment, boundaries, and safe reporting in the school environment. Brentwood High School’s counselor, Dr. Melody O’Brien led the two part discussion in which students discussed their experiences and possible solutions to the many issues of sex and gender inequality in the school setting.