Sexual Assault Awareness Month Denim Day 2026

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 26-1025

BY REPRESENTATIVE(S) Duran and Johnson, Bacon, Barron, Boesenecker, Bottoms, Bradfield, Brooks, Brown, Caldwell, Camacho, Carter, Clifford, Espenoza, Feret, Flanell, Froelich, Garcia, Garcia Sander, Gilchrist, Goldstein, Gonzalez R., Hamrick, Hartsook, Jackson, Joseph, Keltie, Lieder, Lindsay, Lukens, Mabrey, Marshall, Martinez, Mauro, McCormick, Nguyen, Paschal, Phillips, Richardson, Rutinel, Rydin, Sirota, Slaugh, Soper, Stewart K., Stewart R., Story, Suckla, Taggart, Titone, Valdez, Velasco, Weinberg, Willford, Winter T., Woodrow, Woog, Zokaie, McCluskie; also SENATOR(S) Wallace and Frizell, Amabile, Baisley, Ball, Benavidez, Bridges, Bright, Carson, Catlin, Cutter, Danielson, Daugherty, Exum, Gonzales J., Hinrichsen, Jodeh, Kipp, Kirkmeyer, Kolker, Lindstedt, Liston, Marchman, Mullica, Pelton B., Pelton R., Rich, Roberts, Rodriguez, Simpson, Snyder, Sullivan, Weissman, Zamora Wilson, Coleman.

CONCERNING SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH, AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, RECOGNIZING APRIL AS SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH AND DESIGNATING APRIL 29, 2026, AS COLORADO DENIM DAY.

WHEREAS, Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) officially began in 2001, though the movement to raise awareness for and put an end to sexual violence can be traced back much further; and WHEREAS, Decades of activism and persistence by survivors and advocates led to the founding of the first rape crisis center in the United States in 1971 and the passage of legislation and funding to support survivors, including the "Violence Against Women Act of 1994" (VAWA); and

WHEREAS, The Denim Day campaign was sparked by the 1998 Italian Supreme Court ruling that overturned a rape conviction based on the flawed argument that the victim's tight jeans indicated that she had helped her rapist remove them, thereby implying her consent; and WHEREAS, The Italian Supreme Court's ruling perpetuated a harmful, victim-blaming mentality, and in response, women in the Italian Parliament wore jeans to work the following day in solidarity with the victim; and WHEREAS, The following year, the Denim Day campaign launched in the United States, encouraging individuals to wear jeans as a visible symbol of protest against attitudes condoning sexual assault; and WHEREAS, The Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CCASA) has served as the collective voice for sexual assault survivors and service providers in public policy initiatives, education, training, and collaborative efforts in Colorado for over four decades and has worked with the Colorado General Assembly to pass laws that provide protection and support for survivors of sexual assault; and WHEREAS, Since 2013, CCASA has hosted Colorado Denim Day, continuing the movement for increased visibility and improved social and political representation for sexual assault survivors in Colorado; and WHEREAS, Sexual assault is a widespread and pervasive issue across the United States, which is compounded by structural and systemic barriers that put marginalized communities at even greater risk and less able to access justice and healing; and WHEREAS, Survivors who come forward show extraordinary courage and resilience by facing challenges that include stigma, fear of retaliation, and systemic barriers to justice; and WHEREAS, Sexual Assault Awareness Month provides an opportunity to both recognize the strength of survivors and highlight the failures of the justice and legal system to take sexual assault and exploitation seriously, including the urgent need for greater transparency, accountability, and meaningful action in response to all forms of sexual violence; and

WHEREAS, Support services are a critical mechanism to stabilize and assist survivors, providing healing, harm prevention services, and lifesaving interventions; and WHEREAS, System- and community-based victim support service providers across Colorado are currently facing an urgent funding crisis resulting in detrimental cuts to programming while survivor need is growing and increasing in complexity, leaving critical service gaps and resulting in further harm; and WHEREAS, Continued action is needed to protect and expand these support services, treat survivors with respect and care, increase accountability, and prevent sexual violence so that we can improve the safety of our communities and continue doing what we do in denim without fear of experiencing sexual violence; and WHEREAS, Recognizing Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Denim Day and bringing attention to the ongoing efforts and urgent need to put an end to sexual violence remain critically important; now, therefore, Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Seventy-fifth General Assembly ofthe State ofColorado, the Senate concurring herein:

That we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly, recognize April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month and designate April 29, 2026, as Colorado Denim Day, a statewide event aligning with Denim Day events across the world, and we are proud to recognize CCASA and other organizations that work to unite Colorado communities in support of ending sexual violence.

Julie McCluskie SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

James Rashad Coleman Sr. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE

Vanessa Reilly CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Esther van Mourik SECRETARY OF THE SENATE