FORT IRWIN, Calif. — Hundreds of Fort Irwin Soldiers and families would have been participating in the annual Denim Day Walk on April 21, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many had to find other ways to recognize the cause.
Denim Day is an international cause to support survivors of sexual assault and violence, as well as denounce it. Traditionally, hundreds of soldiers and families gather at the Blue Track to listen to a speech and words of encouragement from the NTC and Garrison leadership, before walking in remembrance of survivors.
Denim Day is an international protest responding to the Italian Supreme Court’s overruling of a rape conviction in 1999. Although the assailant had been found guilty at the trial, the Supreme Court argued that because the victim’s jeans were too tight and difficult to remove, the assailant couldn’t have done so without the help of the victim.
Although the community could not walk in groups, many still wore their teal and denim/blue jeans in support.