SENATE RULES COMMITTEE SR 68
Office of Senate Floor Analyses
(916) 651-4171
THIRD READING
Bill No: SR 68
Author: Cervantes (D)
Introduced: 1/8/26
Vote: Majority
SUBJECT: Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Denim Day.
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This resolution recognizes April 29, 2026, as Denim Day in California
and encourages everyone to wear jeans on that day to help communicate the
message that there is no excuse for, and never an invitation to commit, rape.
ANALYSIS: This resolution makes the following legislative findings:
1) In 1998, the Supreme Court of Cassation in Italy overturned the conviction of a
man who sexually assaulted an 18-year-old woman after the court determined
that, “because the victim wore very, very tight jeans, she had to help him
remove them, and by removing the jeans it was no longer rape but consensual
sex”.
2) Enraged by the court decision, within a matter of hours, the women in the
Italian Parliament launched into immediate action and protested by wearing
jeans to work. Nations and states throughout the world have followed the lead
of the Italian Parliament by designating their own “Denim Day” to raise public
awareness about rape and sexual assault.
3) The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey reports that there are
over 38,000,000 survivors of rape throughout the United States, with 3,250,000
of those survivors of rape currently living in the State of California.
4) In addition to the immediate physical and emotional costs, sexual assault
survivors too frequently suffer from severe and long-lasting consequences, such
as post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, major depression,
homelessness, eating disorders, low self-esteem, and suicide.
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5) California is a national leader in promoting victim-centered approaches within
the judicial, criminal justice, medical, rape crisis, and health communities. In
2021, California joined the States of New Hampshire and Florida in fulfilling
the promise of Denim Day by approving and enacting Assembly Bill 939
(Cervantes, Chapter 529 of the Statutes of 2021), which prohibits a survivor’s
manner of dress from serving as evidence of consent in sexual assault cases.
This resolution recognizes April 29, 2026, as Denim Day in California and
encourages everyone to wear jeans on that day to help communicate the message
that there is no excuse for, and never an invitation to commit, rape.
Related/Prior Legislation
SR 89 (Rubio, 2024) – Adopted in the Senate.
HR 85 (Cervantes, 2024) – Adopted in the Assembly.
SCR 44 (Caballero, Resolution Chapter 81, Statutes of 2023)
HR 81 (Cervantes, 2022) – Adopted in the Assembly.
SR 28 (Rubio, 2021) – Adopted in the Senate.
HR 38 (Carrillo, 2021) – Adopted in the Assembly.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No
SUPPORT: (Verified 1/21/26)
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified 1/21/26)
None received
Prepared by: Aizenia Randhawa / SFA / (916) 651-4171
1/21/26 16:05:30
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