Mayor Rick Blangiardi donned a denim jacket as he proclaimed April 24, 2024, as Denim Day in Honolulu. People across Oahu are encouraged to wear denim to show support for sex assault survivors and to promote ending victim blaming. The Sex Abuse Treatment Center (SATC), Hawaii Department of Health, Hawaii Department of the Attorney General, Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, Honolulu Police Department and other organizations attended today’s ceremony.

“We’re grateful for Mayor Blangiardi, the city and county of Honolulu and everyone who came out today,” Lynn Costales Matsuoka, SATC executive director, said. “We hope everyone stands in solidarity with sex assault survivors not only today, but every day.”

“We want to draw as much awareness to this important topic as we possibly can, and we are especially grateful for the efforts of The Sex Abuse Treatment Center and all of the supporters rallying here today for everything they are doing to help prevent sexual assault,” Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said. “Unfortunately, we know these incidents still exists today, so we continue to fight. We don’t give up. I believe we can make a big difference in the lives of those impacted by violence, and that’s what this is all about.”

Denim Day originated in 1999, when a Supreme Court in Italy overturned a rape conviction. The justices said the victim must have helped her rapist remove the tight jeans she was wearing, thereby consenting to sex. The day after the ruling, women in the Italian Parliament protested by wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim. Since then, Denim Day has become one of the longest-running global sexual violence prevention and education campaigns.

“Denim Day is an important part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month,” Costales Matsuoka said. “We want sex assault victims to know there are an entire community of supporters who believe you and are here to support you.”

Here’s some additional information about the people SATC helped in 2023:

• 2,464 callers received help through SATC’s 24/7 confidential crisis hotline (808-524-7273), an increase of about 700 callers from 2022.
• More than 1,000 sex assault survivors received crisis counseling, clinical services and support.
• 642 survivors connected with SATC for the first time. Of those, 52% were minors.
• 5% were younger than 5 years old.
• 22% were 5 to 12 years old.
• 25% were 13 to 17 years old.

The Sex Abuse Treatment Center is a program of Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children that offers help to people statewide. SATC is supported by the Kapiolani Health Foundation and relies on community support to help fund its services. To learn more or to donate, visit SATCHawaii.org/Donate.

Sign-waving in Honolulu on April 24 in support of Denim Day and Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Photo (top): Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi holds the Denim Day proclamation in a crowd of sign-waving supporters.