5 ways we can fight back against trafficking on Human Trafficking Awareness Day
Congratulations Dressember advocates, you have successfully completed another season of Dressember! You have used your education and advocacy skills and worked to make a difference in the lives of others. You have spent countless hours planning and hosting events, creating thank you notes for donors, and educating people through your clothing. You have worked so hard, but what comes next?
Tomorrow is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. This day was created by the United States Senate in 2007 to educate people and acknowledge that human trafficking still occurs. In addition, January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Now that the style challenge has ended, it is important to continue to advocate and educate individuals on human trafficking.
Here are five ways you can advocate and educate on Human Trafficking Awareness Day.
Wear blue.
One thing ANYONE can do on Human Trafficking Awareness Day is wear blue. Blue is the affinity color of human trafficking, so put on a blue shirt, dress, or tie tomorrow and show that you are an advocate to end human trafficking. You can also put back on your “ask me about my dress/tie” buttons and create an extra day of Dressember advocacy and education!
During Dressember, there were so many beautiful and creative dresses and styles. From wedding and prom dresses to Disney, Sesame Street, and Star Wars-themed outfits, every Dressember advocate had their own unique style and flair. When you get dressed tomorrow, be as creative as you were during Dressember. Use your outfit as a conversation starter and a tool for advocacy!
Post an update
You worked so hard to raise money during the Dressember 2019 campaign, and there is still an opportunity for you to hit or surpass your goal. Starting at 9 am PST on 01/11, donations will be matched until we raise $20,000. There is no better time to post an update and give your community another chance to give! Create a social media post thanking your supporters and telling them the final statistics of the campaign (and to save you time, we have some premade here). Have fun and be creative! You could include memes, celebratory pictures, or videos. Get your team together and take a group picture to send out to your supporters and sponsors.
Educate yourself.
If you are reading this, then you know that Dressember is devoted to educating advocates. I would suggest, however, that you educate yourself further on the topic of human trafficking. This can be done either by reading past blogs on the Dressember website, researching and reading scholarly journal articles, or reading articles from publications like The Guardian, The New York Times, or NPR. If you read a Dressember blog post and you feel like you want to learn more, do a google search. See if there is anything out there that can inform you further. There are a lot of great resources out there.
Volunteer your time.
There are so many great organizations (including Dressember's programmatic partners!) that work to serve individuals who have experienced abuse or a form of human trafficking. This may not be something you can do tomorrow, but going forward, think about volunteering at an organization that helps serve these individuals. If this is something you want to do, you could spend tomorrow researching and contacting organizations in your area. You can ask them what type of volunteer work needs to be done and what needs to be completed—like a background check—in order for you to volunteer.
Become a conscious buyer.
Dressember talks a lot about conscious consumerism. This means understanding the products that you buy, where they come from, and the impact they have on the people who created them. This also means making conscious decisions when buying products. Even though the Dressember season has come to an end, it is important to continue to purchase goods with a conscious mind. Continue to purchase from ethical and fair trade companies and be aware of the issues surrounding fast fashion. To start, check out Dressember’s ethical fashion directory here.
Remember, advocacy happens every month of the year. It is important to continue learning, educating, and advocating between the formal Dressember seasons. Continue what you learned in Dressember and bring it into the rest of your life. If you have the ability, work to serve the individuals who you are advocating for. I once heard someone say that if you sit and listen, but go home and do not live your life any differently, then you did not learn. This has always stuck with me; I hope it resonates with you as well.
I am so excited to see what everyone does to celebrate Human Trafficking Awareness Day tomorrow. And remember that the Dressember campaign pages are open until the end of January, so it is not too late for you or your supporters to make a final donation. Congratulations Dressember advocates, you are amazing!
About the Author
Megan Robbins is a recent college graduate. She received her bachelor’s degree in social work and she hopes to utilize her skills to serve others. When she is not a social worker, Megan loves to be creative through dancing and painting.