When I first decided to participate in Dressember in November of 2017, it took approximately two minutes before I thought, “How on earth am I going to pull this off in the cold?”
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While everything seemed okay at first, the boyfriend suddenly told Ella that she owed him money for everything he had provided for her.
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“Patricia” is a mother of two, “Marta” (7) and “Luis” (2). Patricia was sold to a local gang at the age of 16 because her parents could not afford to support their family. She was trafficked at a cantina in her rural community in Central America before being brought to New York by an abusive boyfriend.
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As a conscious consumer of Fair Trade goods, Jaclyn Dowdle, like many of us, found herself frustrated with how difficult it was to find clothing “that was responsibly made, affordable, and stylish”. She began longing for a way to help “consumers buy better and smarter”, and also provide fair employment for workers within the apparel industry. Out of this desire, Dowdle founded Trove, “a fashion brand that delights in dignity”, a brand designed “to clothe us in the dignity that we personally desired, but also to create dignity in an industry that is infamous for suppressing it”.
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Hannah Britton was more than just the average college student during her time at Huntington University. Her passion for activism and steadfast resolve allowed her to spread a growing interest in fighting against human trafficking across the Indiana community. Becoming a Dressember advocate during her time at Huntington University provided her an outlet through which she could channel this passion and enlighten others about the plight of those still enslaved around the world. However, Hannah’s commitment to ending slavery involved more than just putting on a dress for the entire month of December. It involved fearless activism and striving towards unfathomable, remarkable goals.
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But the sad reality is that 60% of those children – 60,000 children – who were recovered in FBI raids can be traced back to foster care and group homes. They were the hurt, the lonely, and the seemingly forgotten children and youth of society. According to Olive Crest Executive Director, Jaime Zavala, “children and young adults who have been a part of the foster care system are some of the kids at greatest risk of being engaged in human trafficking.”
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With offices in Connecticut, Texas, North Carolina, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines, Love146 is working to end child trafficking and exploitation around the world. Their programs address the biological, psychological, social, financial, and spiritual impacts of victimization, and help youth develop strategies to stay safe. In the United States, Love146 also conducts one-time interventions called “Rapid Responses” that provide at-risk youth with information, safety planning, and referral services related to human trafficking and sexual exploitation. The organization’s Prevention Education program is designed to reach children before traffickers do. Through its “Not a Number” curriculum and other tools, Love146 has impacted thousands of children in classroom and community settings, equipping them to recognize vulnerabilities and protect themselves and their peers from exploitation.
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The internet has made it easier than ever for kids to be bought and sold online. We partner with Thorn to fund their Spotlight tool that identifies victims of human trafficking being sold online, and works with local law enforcement and detectives to rescue and protect those being exploited. They have shared the following text from a survivor who was safely brought from San Diego, where she was trafficked, to her home in Arizona. Thorn’s Spotlight Tool was able to identify her, and connect her with a detective who drove 6-hours to interview her instead of calling her on the phone:
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When I asked Kay Buck, CEO and founder of Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST) about the work she gets to do daily, she proclaims “My job is such a blessing. I have the opportunity to work with survivors every day. I think that’s what makes CAST unique. Is that we work long term with survivors so we are able to form that trust and see them through to success.” CAST’s work is indeed unique — they are not only the nation’s largest provider of comprehensive life-changing services to survivors but also fierce advocates for groundbreaking policies and legislation. After benefiting their Transition Age Youth (TAY) program at our 2017 “You Can Do Anything in a Dress” 5k, we were honored to invite them into further partnership for our Dressember 2018/2019 campaign.
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At 20 years old, Vanessa* is a survivor of sex trafficking and sexual assault.
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Many organizations over the past few years have taken a stand against human trafficking. One of those, though, stands out above the rest. Located in one of the biggest hubs for human trafficking, youthSpark is a visionary in changing the face of human trafficking and child exploitation rates in Atlanta, GA, and all over the United States
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IJM is the world’s largest anti-trafficking organization in the world. They work to protect the poor from violence in the developing world with a vision to “rescue thousands, protect millions, and prove that justice for the poor is possible.”
According to the United Nations, 4 billion people live outside the protection of the law. This means that their public justice systems- police, courts, and laws- are so broken, corrupt, and dysfunctional, that there is nothing to shield the poor from violence.
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This year, Dressember Foundation is excited to introduce one of their new grant partners: Businesses Ending Slavery & Trafficking (BEST). Based in Seattle, Washington, BEST provides awareness, consultation and training to employers in a variety of sectors in an effort to put an end to human trafficking within businesses. BEST recognizes the great need for prevention strategies to avert the recurring cycle of modern slavery, and it believes using businesses as an avenue to allocate its resources will effectively bring an end to the injustice.
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This year, Dressember is proud to partner with Thorn, an organization that uses technology to combat child sex trafficking. The internet has become a widely used place for sex traffickers to advertise. The good news is, this can help investigators track down traffickers. The bad news is that law enforcement just doesn’t have the time, energy, or manpower to efficiently pursue the information available online. That's where Thorn comes in.
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*Trigger Warning: The following story contains language surrounding sexual and substance abuse that may be triggering to some. Please keep this in mind before reading further. Additionally, we do our best to share uplifting stories on our platform but we also recognize a responsibility to share with you the tough situations that our grant partners face in the fight to end human trafficking.
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Children have been given the gift of great power: they change lives, alter plans, move hearts, and send waves throughout humanity. As simple as it sounds, everyone alive was once a child. But this great power is coupled with great vulnerability. Five children die every day from abuse. That number is inexcusable. Children need to be seen, protected, and most importantly, heard.
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Mia was a teen girl in Milwaukee who had endured years of abuse in her home environment. Mia, a strong and independent young woman, knew that she wasn’t safe at home. So, at 16 years old, she ran away from home to find an environment where she could live without fear of violence and physical harm.
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This year, Dressember is expanding its grant partners like never before, adding nine incredible organizations as benefactors of this campaign. I have the distinct privilege of introducing you to one of Dressember’s newest grant partners: Restore NYC. Restore NYC is nationally recognized for its leadership in identifying and helping trafficked women. Its mission is bold: “End sex trafficking in New York and restore the well-being and independence of foreign national survivors.”
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Did you know sex traffickers in Los Angeles make about $49,000 per victim? Or that the average age for a child to be introduced into trafficking is 11 to 14 years of age? Were you aware that victims normally live an average of seven years after first being trafficked?
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At 16-years-old, Vanessa* found herself alone and living on the streets of Milwaukee. She knew there was a better life for her, but felt her unsafe living situation left her no choice but to run away and make it on her own. As her situation grew more desperate, Vanessa began to exchange sex for money to meet her basic needs. It wasn’t long until her situation left her vulnerable and she was taken advantage of by traffickers.
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