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If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, call 504-920-9900 to speak privately with someone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Or, fill out our reporting form.

To learn more about the changes to the University Sexual Misconduct/Title IX resolution processes, please visit our update page.

Home / Get Involved / Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Each April, individuals and institutions come together to raise public awareness about sexual violence in all its forms and educate our communities about how to prevent it. While we cannot be physically together to observe this month of events and campaigns, we would like to invite you to join the Well for Health Promotion and the Title IX Office to commemorate SAAM on April 7th's Day of Action and on April 29th's Denim Day. There are more details on how to participate in both events below. We also encourage you to explore the National Sexual Violence Resource Center's SAAM media kit for more information about Sexual Assault Awareness Month's history  and other resources you can use to spread awareness throughout the month. 

SAAM Day of Action
What is Day of Action? Day of action encourages individuals to wear teal, the color of sexual assault awareness, to serve a conversations-starter about sexual violence prevention and supporting survivors. By having these conversations, you can spread important messages about consent, healthy relationships, and ending victim blaming throughout our Tulane community.
 
When is Day of Action? All day on Tuesday, April 7, 2020
 
How do I participate? Let's turn Tulane teal together! Take a selfie in your teal gear and post it to your personal or office's social media along with a caption about how you support survivors or work to prevent sexual violence in our community. Feel welcome to get your family, roommates, or pets involved! Hashtag your post with #SAAM and make sure to tag @tucampushealth and @tulanetitleix so that we can repost! And be sure to follow Campus Health and Title IX on social media so that you can see all the posts!
Denim Day
What is Denim Day? (*TW: brief description of assault) The Denim Day story begins in Italy in 1992, when an 18-year old girl was raped by the 45-year old driving instructor who was taking her to her very first driving lesson. He took her to an isolated road, pulled her out of the car, removed her jeans and forcefully raped her. She reported the rape and the perpetrator was arrested and prosecuted. He was then convicted of rape and sentenced to jail. Years later, he appealed the conviction claiming that they had consensual sex. The Italian Supreme Court overturned the conviction and the perpetrator was released. A statement from the Court argued that because the victim was wearing very tight jeans, she had to help him remove them, and by removing the jeans it was not rape but consensual sex. This became known throughout Italy as the “jeans alibi.” Enraged by the verdict, the women in the Italian Parliament launched a protest wearing jeans on the steps of the Supreme Court. This protest was picked up by international media which inspired the California Senate and Assembly to do the same on the steps of the Capitol in Sacramento. Denim Day was born. The first Denim Day event was held in April of 1999, and has continued annually since. To learn more, click here.
 
When is Denim Day? All Day on Wednesday, April 29, 2020
 
How do I participate? Throw on your favorite denim and take a selfie along with a sign or caption that reads, "Ask me why I'm wearing denim today." Post the image to your personal or office's social media along with a message of support for survivors. Messages like, "I wear denim because I support survivors," or "Rape culture is real but rape myths are not," help to empower and encourage survivors within our Tulane community. Again, feel welcome to get your family or pets involved! Hashtag your post with #denimday and make sure to tag @tucampushealth and @tulanetitleix so that we can repost! And be sure to follow Campus Health and Title IX on social media so that you can see all the posts!