WASHINGTON — These jeans are made for walking, and that's just what they will do... Wednesday evening is the perfect time to strut with them, too.
The Denim Day Survivors' Walk will be taking place in the nation's capitol on April 24. It's a day that recognizes when an Italian court case blamed a survivor for her assault because of her "too tight" jeans. According to the Eventbrite page for the event, Denim Day helps to combat victim-blaming, and stands in solidarity with survivors by wearing denim as a symbol of protest.
The walk is a way support and stand in solidarity with sexual assault survivors. The journey will start at the United States Capitol building and will lead to the Lincoln Memorial, where people will hold a candle-lit gathering -- and stories will be shared. The event is being put on by Strength Through Strides, which is founded by 29-year-old Summer Willis, of Lexington, Virginia.
In the latter half of 2023 Willis shared her story with WUSA9, and the fact that she is embarking on a journey of running 29 marathons in one year. She says the decision was made to tackle this challenges when she was in a place of hardship, which included having six relatives die -- this pushed her to learn more about her trauma. The marathons started as a way to prove to herself that she is not a victim, but someone who is strong -- a survivor.
When she started to tell others about what she was doing, this blossomed. After she also heard stories of other people surviving their own sexual assault, she realized she shouldn't just run for her herself, but for all those people.
And there are a lot of people. Every 68 seconds an American is sexually assaulted, according to Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN).
Willis hopes to take the taboo out of talking about sexual assault. As of April 21, with the London Marathon, she has reached 12 out of 29. Throughout this journey, she has been touring rape treatment centers in different communities, and when in Los Angeles she connected with Paige Adams-Geller, co-founder of PAIGE, a clothing brand, who is also a survivor, and together they birthed the idea of the walk.
During the Denim Day walk, which begins with meeting at 6:15-6:30 p.m. at the steps of Congress, Willis will be talking to U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), as well as senators' policy departments.
"I want to tell them my story. And I think people seem shocked when they hear that it's one in six females are sexually assaulted in the United States. So a reminder, this should be a priority. It took years away from my life to, like, get back in order," Willis said. "There's so many ways we can prevent this. I was a school teacher, so let's talk about it when kids are in school and make it, like, something that we need to talk about."
She has also connected with a California lawyer who passed legislation for that state to "kind of decriminalize being able to talk about your abuser without ramifications." Willis said that when she thinks about her sexual assault, she felt so alone and couldn't tell anybody, and this is all a step to change this.
"I guess what I'm trying to do this year is help paint a new picture of what it looks like to be a survivor, to have stories about survivors being strong and survivors."
On Women's Day she even ran a marathon while carrying a mattress to symbolize that even with the weight of being a survivor, you can still do hard things.
Summer Willis continuing her 29 marathon journey
This is just the beginning for Willis, Strength Through Strides, and PAIGE, as they are already in talks for the future which could be a potential 'Denim Day 5K.'
But as for the Denim Day Survivors' Walk, which takes place during Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the event is free to participate in, but the first 29 participants who register will receive a complimentary pair of jeans from PAIGE.
Anyone who cannot make it, but are interested in supporting can look to add an item or two to their cart on PAIGE as 20% of sales are going directly to Strength Through Strides on Denim Day, which will help support survivors.
Watch Next: Marathon runner turns her pain into positivity
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