State Lawmakers Protest Italian Ruling on Rape

Angry California lawmakers wore jeans to the state Assembly floor Tuesday to express disgust over an Italian court ruling that declared rape is impossible if the victim is wearing jeans.

“We stand with our Italian sisters in refusing to be taken back to the old days when women were blamed for their own rape,” said Assemblywoman Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), one of several dozen male and female officials taking part in the protest.

In a controversial decision last week, Italy’s highest appeals court said that “it is common knowledge . . . that jeans cannot even be partly removed without the effective help of the person wearing them . . . and it is impossible if the victim is struggling with all her might.”

Using this reasoning, the court overturned a rape conviction against a 45-year-old driving instructor, saying there was not enough evidence that he raped his 18-year-old student.

The ruling prompted protests in Italy, including one by six women members of parliament, who demonstrated in front of the lower house building wearing jeans and holding signs that read “Jeans: the alibi for rape.”