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Hundreds of Harvard students and affiliates wore denim dresses, jeans, and Canadian tuxedos and stopped by the Science Center on Wednesday to honor Denim Day, a global campaign to show support for people who experienced sexual assault.

Denim Day — an annual event that occurs on a Wednesday in April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month — was created more than 20 years ago after the Italian Supreme Court overturned a rape conviction, concluding that the woman must have consented since she was wearing tight jeans.

This year’s Denim Day, which fell on the last day of spring semester classes, was hosted on campus by Harvard’s Title IX Office and Response, a student peer counseling group. Students and affiliates were encouraged to wear denim as a “visible means of protest against the misconceptions that surround sexual assault,” according to a circulated flyer.

Student and staff volunteers at tables in the Science Center handed out flowers and stickers to people who stopped by, explaining the history of Denim Day and distributing information about sexual assault and resources including Harvard’s offices.

Response Co-Director Jennifer H. Kim ’26 said Denim Day, which had previously been commemorated on campus, disappeared during the Covid-19 pandemic but was relaunched this year.

Kim said she hoped to continue the event, which she described as an opportunity to inform students about campus resources and support, and “who they can turn to on Harvard’s campus.”

“I’d love to keep this going,” she said. “I think this event turned out really well, and I would like to continue bringing awareness to Denim Day and what it stands for.”

Colleen B. Meosky ’28 — the president of Harvard’s chapter of Girl Up and a table volunteer — said she hoped the “visual representation of support” let students who experienced sexual violence know “that there are people in their community who believe them.”

Meosky said Girl Up organized events during the week leading up to Wednesday, including denim “displays” where people would write their names on pieces of paper attached to scraps of denim.

“We’d attach it just to show that by signing this, you stand with women in our community who have been raped, assaulted,” she said. “We just want to show that Harvard cares.”

Meosky said people would come up to her and ask more about the displays and Denim Day, amounting to hundreds of student signatures by the end.

“That’s been the biggest accomplishment of the display,” she said. “It was just really heartwarming to see people from all different backgrounds come together and decide to sign this.”

Nishtha Shah ’28 — one of the students who wore denim — said raising awareness about sexual assault was “necessary” because people who experienced it are often reluctant to speak about it.

“I urge all my friends to participate in it too, because I feel like this is something that should be talked about,” she said.

Gowri Rangu ’26 said that for her, Denim Day symbolized empathy toward people who experienced sexual assault and that “a lot of women have similar experiences.”

“Who doesn’t love denim, as well?” she said.

“I think it’s important for both women and men, everyone, to take part in it,” Rangu added. “It’s not that hard to wear denim, so why not?”