First Regular Session
Seventy-fourth General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO
INTRODUCED
LLS NO. R23-0879.02 Lauren Hackett x2291
HJR23-1023
House Committees Senate Committees
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 23-1023
C
ONCERNING SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH, AND, IN101
CONNECTION THEREWITH , RECOGNIZING APRIL AS SEXUAL102
A
SSAULT AWARENESS MONTH AND DESIGNATING APRIL 26,103
2023,
AS COLORADO DENIM DAY.104
WHEREAS, Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) officially1
began in 2001, though the movement to raise awareness for and put an2
end to sexual violence can be traced back much further; and3
WHEREAS, Decades of activism and persistence by survivors and4
advocates led to the founding of the first rape crisis center in the U.S. in5
1971 and the passage of legislation and funding to support survivors,6
including the "Violence Against Women Act of 1993" (VAWA); and7
WHEREAS, The Denim Day campaign was originally spurred in8
HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
Duran and Pugliese, Amabile, Armagost, Bird, Bockenfeld, Bradfield, Bradley, Brown,
Catlin, deGruy Kennedy, Daugherty, Dickson, English, Evans, Frizell, Froelich, Gonzales-
Gutierrez, Hamrick, Hartsook, Herod, Holtorf, Joseph, Kipp, Lieder, Lukens, Lynch, Mabrey,
Marshall, McCormick, McLachlan, Michaelson Jenet, Parenti, Ricks, Sharbini, Sirota, Story,
Taggart, Titone, Velasco, Vigil, Weinberg, Weissman, Willford, Wilson, Winter T.,
Woodrow, Young
SENATE SPONSORSHIP
Kirkmeyer and Winter F.,
Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment.
Capital letters or bold & italic numbers indicate new material to be added to existing law.
Dashes through the words or numbers indicate deletions from existing law. 1998 when the Italian Supreme Court ruled that a rape conviction would1
be overturned because the justices felt that since the victim was wearing2
tight jeans, she must have helped her rapist remove her jeans, thereby3
implying consent; and4
WHEREAS, The following day, women in the Italian Parliament5
came to work wearing jeans to show their solidarity with the victim and6
the following year, Peace Over Violence ignited the Denim Day7
campaign in Los Angeles and encouraged participants to wear jeans in8
protest against attitudes condoning sexual assault; and9
WHEREAS, Since 2013, the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual10
Assault (CCASA), which serves as the collective voice of sexual assault11
survivors and service providers in public policy initiatives, education,12
training, and collaborative efforts, has hosted Colorado Denim Day; and13
WHEREAS, In the last 10 years, CCASA has worked with the14
Colorado General Assembly to pass 14 laws that provide protections and15
support for survivors of sexual assault; and16
WHEREAS, More than 100 organizations have received training17
and technical assistance through CCASA to support survivors; and18
WHEREAS, CCASA continues to raise awareness around19
reporting options, survivor rights, and advocate resources through its You20
Have the Right Campaign; and21
WHEREAS, The You Have the Right Campaign is available in22
English and Spanish and will soon be available in Chinese, Arabic, and23
Japanese; and24
WHEREAS, Support services for survivors and advocates continue25
to require translation resources to serve the 17% of Colorado's population26
that speak a language other than English; and27
WHEREAS, Rural counties are home to 13% of Colorado's28
population, and survivors often point to lack of transportation as a barrier29
to receiving services; and30
WHEREAS, More resources around translation and transportation31
are needed to provide equitable access to services and further address32
sexual violence in Colorado; and33
HJR23-1023
-2- WHEREAS, Current efforts to make services more accessible to1
all Coloradans demonstrate the Colorado General Assembly's dedication2
to advancing protections for survivors; and3
WHEREAS, Continued action is needed to further expand support4
services throughout the state so that we can continue doing what we do5
in denim; and6
WHEREAS, Recognizing Sexual Assault Awareness Month and7
Denim Day and bringing attention to the ongoing effort to put an end to8
sexual violence remain critically important; now, therefore,9
Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the10
Seventy-fourth General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate11
concurring herein:12
That we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly,13
recognize April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month and designate April14
26, 2023, as Colorado Denim Day, a statewide event aligning with Denim15
Day events across the world, and we are proud to recognize CCASA,16
Peace Over Violence, and other organizations that work to unite Colorado17
communities in support of ending sexual violence.18
Be It Further Resolved, That a copy of this Joint Resolution be19
sent to Brie Franklin, Executive Director of CCASA.20
HJR23-1023
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