The City of West Hollywood hosted a Denim Day gathering in the lobby of City Hall, 8300 Santa Monica Boulevard, at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 25, 2012. Denim Day is a campaign to raise awareness and educate the public about rape and sexual assault. It is sponsored by the City’s Public Safety Division.

Among the speakers at the event were Captain Kelley Fraser from the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Department, who addressed rape statistics in Los Angeles, as well as the status of rape kits in the county. Hillary Selvin, Executive Director of the National Council of Jewish Women – Los Angeles, also spoke about local resources available to victims and their families.

Since 1999, Peace Over Violence has organized Denim Day in Los Angeles and across the country. It is a rape prevention education campaign, where community members are asked to make a social statement by wearing jeans on this day as a visible means of protest against misconceptions that surround sexual assault. The day originated in Italy, after a convicted rapist had his case overturned because he argued that his victim wore tight jeans. The women of the Italian Parliament immediately protested by wearing jeans to work the next day. The California State Assembly and Senate quickly followed suit. The non-profit organization Peace Over Violence took up the cause and founded Denim Day in 1999.

For more information, please visit http://denimdayusa.org/ or call (323) 848-6371. For the deaf and hard of hearing, please call (323) 848-6496.