Three Ways to Advocate Beyond Dressember
With the dress as a flag of freedom, people across the world united this past December to raise millions of dollars in Dressember’s annual campaign for the fight to end human trafficking. It’s January, so now what? The Dressember movement raises awareness and funding in the month of December that goes to critical organizations, but human trafficking still exists outside the month of December—it is not limited to 31 days.
Advocacy is more than fundraising and dress-wearing for one month. Luckily, there are other ways to stay involved in the fight and be an advocate 365 days of the year.
Dressember Foundation, like the fight to end modern slavery, also operates outside the month of December! While Dressember is an annual campaign, the team works year-round to educate people and raise awareness of human trafficking. There are even opportunities to stay involved in the movement past the month of December.
Take to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter - Dressember is there. A simple way to stay involved is to follow Dressember on these social media platforms, where informative content is regularly shared. You can also sign up for Dressember’s monthly email (with information on victim rescue efforts, Dressember partnerships, ethical fashion, and more) on the website. As always, the Dressember blog is also regularly updated with engaging and enlightening stories.
The Dressember Collective is a powerful community of advocates and donors furthering the work of Dressember through monthly giving. Members of the Collective commit to a monthly donation amount that contributes specifically to the care and rehabilitation of survivors of human trafficking—it is a way to tangibly contribute to the mission of Dressember and its grant partners year-round.
Here are some more examples of how you can advocate beyond and outside Dressember for the rest of the year:
Know Your Resources and Be Informed
To be an effective advocate, you have to be an informed advocate! It doesn’t have to be December to learn more about human trafficking.
The U.S. Department of State, which houses the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office), has a website full of information about trafficking. The Office’s resources include indicators of human trafficking and questions to ask victims, for example. The TIP Office also publishes an annual Trafficking in Persons Report with data and metrics that comprehensively assess what governments around the world are doing to combat trafficking.
The U.S. Department of State is a great place to start, but there are so many other informative resources available, including (but not limited to) the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Anti-Slavery International, and the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
Visit these websites. Be informed. Know the signs of human trafficking. Learn what you can do about it, and remember that you can make an impact.
Shop Ethically
Many of the products that we use on a daily basis are linked to forced labor. One of the most tangible ways to advocate for victims of human trafficking is to shop ethically. Small changes in the way you shop can make big differences in the lives of modern slaves.
Dressember has made it easy to shop for ethically made clothing with the ethical fashion directory, cataloging hundreds of brands that you can feel good about buying.
Another key point is to look for the Fairtrade logo on the products you are purchasing. Fairtrade International ensures fair wages for workers and that products are fully traceable from farm to shelf.
Opt-In to Other Organizations
Dressember is not alone in the fight to end human trafficking. Thankfully, there are dozens of international organizations that work toward the eradication of modern slavery and Dressember has partnered with fifteen of them.
Let’s highlight a few Dressember partners that you can engage with year-round.
International Justice Mission is the largest anti-slavery organization in the world, working to rescue slaves, put their oppressors in jail, and help justice systems protect vulnerable people.
A21 works off of the operational strategy of Reach, Rescue, and Restore to act as so-called 21st-century abolitionists. Once a year, A21 hosts a worldwide Walk For Freedom as an “outward expression of [an] inward desire to see slavery completely abolished.” Visit their website to participate in a walk near you or organize your own!
Love146 works to end child trafficking and exploitation, and provides resources for victims, like their two unique homes designed to facilitate the holistic needs of survivors.
Advocacy is larger than one month, and modern slavery has no temporal borders. We need to fight human trafficking around the clock, 365 days a year. The spirit of Dressember extends beyond 31 days—as we enter the new year and commit to New Year’s resolutions, consider “being a year-round advocate for those without freedom” as one of yours.
About the Author
Emma Pitzl is a senior at the University of Minnesota pursuing a degree in English with a minor in psychology. Her happy place is anywhere with a lake. Outside the classroom, she enjoys reading, running, playing volleyball, and curating too many playlists.