Second Regular Session
Seventy-fourth General Assembly
STATE OF COLORADO
REVISED
LLS NO. R24-0856.01 June McCabe x4143
HJR24-1021
House Committees Senate Committees
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 24-1021
C
ONCERNING SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH, AND, IN101
CONNECTION THEREWITH , RECOGNIZING APRIL AS SEXUAL102
A
SSAULT AWARENESS MONTH AND DESIGNATING APRIL 24,103
2024,
AS COLORADO DENIM DAY.104
WHEREAS, Sexual Assault Awareness Month officially began in1
2001, though the movement to raise awareness for and put an end to2
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 United5
States in 1971 and the passage of legislation and funding to support6
survivors, including the "Violence Against Women Act of 1994"; and7
WHEREAS, The Denim Day campaign was originally spurred in8
SENATE
Final Reading
April 15, 2024
HOUSE
Final Reading
April 4, 2024
HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
Duran and Pugliese, Amabile, Armagost, Bacon, Bird, Boesenecker, Bradfield, Bradley,
Brown, Catlin, Clifford, Daugherty, deGruy Kennedy, Epps, Frizell, Froelich, Garcia,
Hamrick, Hartsook, Hernandez, Jodeh, Joseph, Kipp, Lieder, Lindsay, Lindstedt, Lukens,
Lynch, Mabrey, Marshall, Martinez, Marvin, Mauro, McCluskie, McCormick, McLachlan,
Ortiz, Parenti, Rutinel, Sirota, Snyder, Soper, Story, Taggart, Titone, Valdez, Velasco, Vigil,
Weinberg, Weissman, Willford, Woodrow, Young
SENATE SPONSORSHIP
Winter F. and Danielson, Bridges, Buckner, Coleman, Exum, Fenberg, Fields, Gardner,
Ginal, Gonzales, Hansen, Hinrichsen, Jaquez Lewis, Kirkmeyer, Kolker, Liston, Lundeen,
Marchman, Michaelson Jenet, Mullica, Pelton B., Priola, Rich, Roberts, Rodriguez, Simpson,
Smallwood, Sullivan, Van Winkle, Will, Zenzinger
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, the nonprofit organization Peace Over Violence7
ignited the Denim Day campaign in Los Angeles and encouraged8
participants to wear jeans in protest against attitudes condoning sexual9
assault; and10
WHEREAS, Since 2013, the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual11
Assault (CCASA), which serves as the collective voice of sexual assault12
survivors and service providers in public policy initiatives, education,13
training, and collaborative efforts, has hosted Colorado Denim Day; and14
WHEREAS, For 40 years, CCASA has supported survivors and15
advocates and has worked with the Colorado General Assembly to pass16
laws that provide protections and support for survivors of sexual assault;17
and18
WHEREAS, More than 100 organizations have received training19
and technical assistance through CCASA to support survivors; and20
WHEREAS, CCASA continues to raise awareness around21
reporting options, survivor rights, and advocate resources through its22
"You Have the Right" campaign; and23
WHEREAS, The "You Have the Right" campaign is available in24
English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, and Vietnamese; and25
WHEREAS, Support services for survivors and advocates continue26
to require translation resources to serve the 17% of Colorado's population27
who speak a language other than English; and28
WHEREAS, Rural counties are home to 13% of Colorado's29
population, and survivors often point to lack of transportation as a barrier30
to receiving services; and31
WHEREAS, More resources involving translation and32
transportation are needed to provide equitable access to services and to33
1021
-2- further address sexual violence in Colorado; and1
WHEREAS, Current efforts to make services more accessible to2
all Coloradans demonstrate the Colorado General Assembly's dedication3
to advancing protections for survivors; and4
WHEREAS, Continued action is needed to further expand support5
services throughout the state so that we can continue doing what we do6
in denim; and7
WHEREAS, Recognizing Sexual Assault Awareness Month and8
Denim Day and bringing attention to the ongoing effort to put an end to9
sexual violence remain critically important; now, therefore,10
Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the11
Seventy-fourth General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate12
concurring herein:13
That we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly:14
(1) Recognize April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month and15
designate April 24, 2024, as Colorado Denim Day, a statewide event16
aligning with Denim Day events across the world; and17
(2) Proudly recognize the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual18
Assault and the fortieth anniversary that the organization celebrates this19
year, Peace Over Violence, and other organizations that work to unite20
Colorado communities in support of ending sexual violence.21
Be It Further Resolved, That a copy of this Joint Resolution be22
sent to Brie Franklin, executive director of CCASA.23
1021
-3-