The staff at the Susanville Police Department came to work in jeans Wednesday as part of National Denim Day, taking a stand against, and raising awareness about sexual assault in our community.
The Denim Day observance is part of National Sexual Assault Awareness Week and is closely tied to Lassen Family Services’ month-long awareness campaign which began with the Walk-A-Mile event held the first week in April.
“We at the SPD are in support of Lassen Family Services’ effort to raise awareness of sexual assault,” said Susanville Police Chief Tom Downing. “The denim jeans are worn to bring awareness to the fact than anyone can become a victim of this horrific crime. By wearing denim today, we stand in support of sexual assault victims.”
Downing explained that the inspiration for Denim Day came out of a case from Italy where a judge dismissed a woman’s rape claims because he said her jeans were tight and she would have had to remove them herself.
“There is no excuse for rape,” said Downing, “not even the victim wearing tight jeans and needing to assist assailant in removing the jeans is a valid excuse.”
