TYLER, Texas — Editor's Note: The above video aired in October 2023 about the East Texas Crisis Center.
The East Texas Crisis Center will host the annual Denim Day event Wednesday that aims to raise awareness about sexual assault and show support to survivors.
The event will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on the downtown Tyler square with a solidarity walk, food trucks and a DJ. The purpose of Denim Day is to raise awareness for survivors, challenge rape myths and combat victim blaming, the crisis center said on Facebook.
Participants wear denim to show their support due to a ruling from the Italian Supreme Court decades ago.
According to denimday.org, the 1990s ruling overturned a rape conviction because the justices said the victim was wearing tight jeans, which to them meant she must've helped the person who raped her remove the jeans. To the court, that implied that the victim gave consent.
Denim Day, which is celebrated internationally, began in 1999.
ETCC provides a safe haven for people impacted by family violence, dating violence, sexual assault and violent crime. The nonprofit serves Smith, Henderson, Van Zandt, Wood and Rains counties.