City of Fayetteville issued the following announcement on Apr. 26.
The Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Commission recognized Denim Day this week for the first time in Fayetteville and Cumberland County history.
A lunch event was held on Wednesday at the Cape Fear Botanical Gardens with more than 125 in attendance. Participants, through their presence, renewed a commitment to supporting survivors of sexual violence.
The keynote speaker for the event was Elenah Godbolt Kelly, a Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Victim Advocate for Pope Army Airfield who works directly with commanders to implement prevention policy for more than 2,600 personnel. Matt Kelly and George Watson, victim advocates from The Phoenix Center, also read powerful impact statements from victims to those in attendance.
Denim Day is an international day of acknowledgment and solidarity that began in 1992 in Italy following the overturn of a rape conviction based on implied consent due to the tightness of the victim’s jeans. The "jeans alibi" enraged women of the Italian Parliament who subsequently protested by wearing jeans on the steps of the Supreme Court making international news. Denim Day first came to the United States in 1999 in Los Angeles, CA.
Find out more about Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Commission events and activities at fayettevillenc.gov/humanrelations.
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up