Caregivers at Mosaic Life Care showed support for sexual assault victims through a pair of jeans Thursday that will be given to the St. Joseph YWCA.

The hospital said in an effort to bring awareness to the plight of sexual assault victims, Mosaic Life Care and the State of Missouri took part in Denim Day.

It said in 1992, an 18-year-old in Italy was picked up by her driving instructor to begin a driving lesson. Soon after, the instructor raped her on the side of the road. She pressed charges and won her case. The instructor appealed, and the case when to the Italian High Court.

In 1999, the court overturned the conviction. One member of the High Court declared that, since the girl was wearing very tight jeans, the instructor could not have removed them by himself, and the girl must have been a willing participant. Women of the Italian legislature protested the decision by wearing jeans. As news of the decision spread, so did the protest. In April 1999, the state of California established the first Denim Day in the United States.

Mosaic Life Care Caregivers displayed their support to these people by signing a pair of jeans that will be given to the YWCA battered women’s shelter.

“There is a national push to increase awareness and talk about this [sexual assault],” said Natalie Maupin, Mosaic Life Care’s forensic trauma program coordinator. “let’s give people a voice.”

Mosaic Life Care said years ago, all Emergency Department (ED) caregivers who provided one-on-one treatment to patients received training to deal with sexual assault victims and the special issues they present both physically and psychologically. With the encouragement of ED Team Leader Sarah Cassity, Natalie became a certified to teach care for sexual-assault victims, including the collection of valuable medical-forensic evidence. She teaches this 60-hour class about twice a year.

The hospital said Natalie’s next goal was building a team to respond — on an on-call basis — when a victim of sexual assault comes in. Natalie requested $35,000 from the Auxiliary to develop the forensic trauma program and pay for equipment, technology and software, education and training, and patient resources.

She found a group of 15 ED caregivers that are available on an on-call basis so that caregivers are not taken out of the normal care process and gives the victim undivided attention for what could take hours to complete.

“It allows us to spend lots of time discussing what happened with the victim. We tell them they are in a safe place, and that it is safe for them to tell us what happened,” she said. “We are one of the first people to come in contact with victims.”