Brigades decorate jeans in honor of National Denim Day

Photo By Monica Wood | 1st Lt. Nike McCampbell, 1st Battalion, 78th Field Artillery, 428th Brigade, signs the jeans that her brigade made to honor National Denim Day, April 27, 2022, and the victim in Italy for whom the day is named. Denim Day was established after a 1992 court case in which a rape conviction was overturned because the victim wore tight jeans. The court determined the jeans were so tight the victim would have had to assist in their removal, therefore making the sex consensual. Since then, wearing jeans on Denim Day has become an opportunity to make a fashion statement and wear jeans as a visible means of protest against misconceptions that surround sexual assault.  

FORT SILL, OKLAHOMA, UNITED STATES

05.05.2022

Story by Monica Wood 

Fort Sill Public Affairs

FORT SILL, Oklahoma (May 5, 2022) — To celebrate National Denim Day, Fort Sill organizations decorated blue jeans and put them on display at the PX Mall April 27 through 29.

The jeans display, set up by the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response Program Fusion Directorate team, was organized by Staff Sgt. Matthew Kehoskie, installation victim advocate.

National Denim Day was established after a 1992 Italian court case in which a rape conviction was overturned because the victim wore tight jeans. The court determined the jeans were so tight the victim would have had to assist in their removal, therefore making sex consensual.

Since then, Denim Day has become an opportunity to make a social statement by wearing jeans as a visible means of protest against misconceptions that surround sexual assault.

David Carnahan, garrison sexual assault response coordinator, SHARP Fusion Directorate, said the five brigades on post obtained and decorated the jeans. The brigades include 428th Field Artillery Brigade, 434th Field Artillery Brigade, 75th Fires Brigade, 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade and 30th Air Defense Artillery Brigade. The Fires Center of Excellence headquarters, the United States Army Garrison and Reynolds Army Health Clinic also provided decorated jeans for the display.

“Some units decorated and provided more than one pair of pants,” said Carnahan. “Many of those decorating the jeans were Soldiers and SHARP representatives but at least one pair had contributions from a family member and at least one pair had contributions from the brigade leadership.”

One pair of jeans, decorated by the Reynolds Army Health Clinic, came with a story. The Soldiers decided to do the jeans from a male’s perspective along with a superhero theme: “Team up against sexual harassment and assault,” is tied in with the superhero characters stating that “we can all be a superhero in preventing sexual harassment and assault as long as we stand together as a team.” Thor is included with “Can’t Touch This,” showing a person’s body is not for anyone else to touch. Wonder Woman makes an appearance with the statement “I’m not always the victim,” and “one out of six men have been sexually abused or assaulted.” Flash’s statement “sexual assault can happen in a flash,” signifies the need to be faster than the perpetrator in stopping it. The red handprints, which symbolize a stop sign, are placed on the back pockets with the sayings “enough is enough” and “I’m not up for grabs,” showing that it’s not okay to touch just because you want to and we’ve had enough of it. Deadpool has his arms crossed to show that he’s saying, “I’m sorry, double standards don’t work for me,” meaning just because they’re males, doesn’t mean they like it.

Fort Sill is one of six Army Installations conducting the SHARP Fusion Directorate Pilot and the only TRADOC Installation, said Carnahan.

“The Fusion Directorate provides a victim-centric approach that offers an alternate independent reporting process outside the immediate chain of command, consolidates response services as practicable, and provides comprehensive and integrated care that improves efficiency and speed of outcomes with increased accountability and transparency to the victim,” Carnahan said.

The SHARP Fusion Directorate is located at 2913 Custer Road and there is no appointment necessary Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. For 24/7 victim advocacy response and support, Fort Sill's SHARP hotline is 580-91-SHARP (580-917-4277).

Check out all the photos of the Denim Day display at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortsillcannoneer/albums/72177720298467304.

• Date Taken: 05.05.2022
• Date Posted: 05.06.2022 10:48
• Story ID: 420122
• Location: FORT SILL, OKLAHOMA, US