Business & Tech

Greendale Resale Shop Collecting Jeans For 'Denim Day Milwaukee'

Local business owner Diane Chilinski is collecting jeans to help raise awareness of the dangers of rape victims being blamed in rape cases for 'Denim Day Milwaukee' project.

Greendale resale shop They Grow Like Weeds is helping a Wauwatosa teen trying to raise awareness about the dangers of blaming the victim in rape cases.

Wauwatosa East senior by April 24 and They Grow Like Weeds, 5676 Broad St., is serving as a collection site for the project.

Owner Diane Chilinski is a friend of Nerone's family. She felt there was a need in the community for education on the issue of blaming victims in rape cases and wanted to help McKenna out.

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"Who would think you could overturn a rape conviction because of a pair of jeans," she said. "It's so sad to think that because of a pair of jeans, this case in Italy was overturned."

Once collected, Nerone will display the jeans at her school, and then they will be donated to Pathfinders, a youth shelter in Milwaukee.

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"Denim Day is an international movement which began in 1999 when an Italian teen was raped by her driving instructor," McKenna said. "The perpetrator was convicted of the crime and sentenced to prison."

But the Italian Supreme Court overturned the conviction during an appeal hearing because the victim wore jeans that were "too tight" and "she would have had to have helped remove them," McKenna said. "They judged this act to constitute her consent, and the assault was no longer rape, but consensual sex.

"This verdict motivated women and men around the world to dedicate April 24 to wearing jeans to help take the blame off the victim and put it back on the perpetrator – where it belongs."

People can donate jeans—adult, juniors or children sizes—by bringing them to Chilinski's store between now and April 21.

The store hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.


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