AFFIRM

Why blue jeans for an observance day of sexual assault prevention?

 In 1999 an Italian judge overturned a rape conviction, ruling that the survivor had to have helped the rapist pull off her jeans because they were so tight, implying she gave consent. The following day, all the women in Parliament showed up in chamber wearing jeans in solidarity. And a worldwide action began. I have shared my survivor story and worked with survivors around the world. I was a fully covered Muslim teenager sitting on a park bench when I was strangled from behind with my veil scarf to unconsciousness, sexually assaulted, and left for dead behind a bush. There is never an invitation to rape. 

Period. 

Consent is based on equal power and can be reversed at any time. 

Teach boys and men. Stop blaming and shaming survivors.

#SAAM April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

We pause to honor the lives of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People 

and to stand in solidarity with Indigenous communities. 

Indigenous women and girls face violence at rates more than 10 times the national average. According to the National Institute of Justice, 84% of 

Native women have experienced violence, and they are 10 times 

more likely to be murdered than other women in the U.S. 

The red shawl is a powerful symbol of strength, resilience, and remembrance—

a visible reminder of the ongoing crisis impacting Indigenous communities.