April had been designated as Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Parker. The highlight was to be a walk sponsored by Colorado River Regional Crisis Services the evening of Friday, April 26. However, Crisis Services cancelled the walk that afternoon, citing bad weather in the forecast.

On their Facebook page, Crisis Services said, “Unfortunately, we must cancel the walk this evening due to the severe weather. Winds are currently at 18 mph and are supposed to pick up rapidly, with a chance of rain as well. If you have pre-registered for the walk or participated in any of our Sexual Assault Awareness Month activities, your name will still be entered into the drawing bucket to win one of our gift cards or Diamondback tickets. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused, but we are putting the safety of pedestrians first. Thank you all for your understanding!”

Crisis Services had other events during the month to raise awareness of Sexual Assault Prevention. Wednesday, April 24 was “Wear Denim Day,” when people were encouraged to wear denim in support of victims and survivors of sexual assault.

The day recalls events that took place in Italy in 1998. An 18-year-old woman was raped by her driving instructor. While the instructor was convicted, that conviction was overturned. The Italian Supreme Court said the act was consensual, as the woman was wearing tight jeans that could only have been removed with her help.

The day after the conviction was overturned, Italian women showed up for work wearing jeans to protest the court’s decision.

As explained in a flyer, Crisis Services said this is intended as a protest against the attitudes that blame sexual assault victims and let perpetrators get off lightly or go free. Crisis Services noted sexual assault is traumatizing, and the victims are often blamed for what happened. They said such attitudes have led to lax laws that do not help victims and survivors.

“Denim Day aims to rid the world of such attitudes and laws to bring about real justice and support to those who deserve it,” Crisis Services said in the flyer.

The National Sexual Violence Resource Center said sexual assault is a broad term that includes rape, incest, child sexual abuse, intimate partner violence, sexual exploitation, unwanted sexual contact, sexual harassment, exposure and voyeurism.

Crisis Services said they have services available for survivors of sexual assault, and they also want to be involved in preventing such incidents.

Crisis Services has many services and programs available for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. These include operating a domestic violence shelter, referrals, counseling and case management. For more information on Crisis Services and all that they do, call 928-669-8620 or email Erica Daniels at .