Dresses and ties save lives. Well, they do when they are worn by participants of Dressember, an international organization that raises money and awareness to help end human trafficking. Advocates wear dresses (or ties) the entire month of December and are encouraged to establish a fundraising page through the Dressember website. 

“Wearing a dress every day may not seem beneficial to human trafficking, but a main way to end human trafficking is to inform others about it. By wearing a dress in the cold, I hope others will question me so that I may explain that I am trying to raise awareness of human trafficking and maybe be able to teach others about the dangers of human trafficking,” said senior Maya Betts.

Spartans Against Human Trafficking (SAHT) is a WS club that also raises awareness surrounding anti-human trafficking. The club teaches students the warning signs of someone who is being trafficked and gives advice on how they can go about helping their peers if they know of someone in this situation. Members of SAHT are consistently active in Dressember every year, and they also host a school-wide Dressember spirit day on the first school day in December. This event allows more students to dress-up, even if it for only one day, to advocate for an end to human trafficking.

“I particpated in the Dressember school spirit day because I saw all of the posters, and I think [Spartans Against Human Trafficking] is a really great cause even though I am not a part of the club,” said senior Anna Goetz. 

Students from all sorts of backgrounds chose to participate in Dressember. One of the appealing aspects of this movement is that people can participate as little or as much as they would like, and each person has their own unique reason for participating

“What motivated me to participate in Dressember is my sister. She had a friend who had something like that [human trafficking] happen to her, so my sister started becoming an advocate for Dressember. After this happened, I just started wanting to participate too,” said freshman Helen Phillips. 

Though some participants may have personal ties to the Dressember foundation, other students would like to improve their community and raise awareness. By wearing a dress, these students hope to spark conversation and inform others about what really might be going on in their own backyards.

“Human Trafficking is prevalent throughout FCPS and the DC area. Dressember calls people’s attention to the issue that they may not have known impacted their community the way it does,” said senior Elsa Ianotta. 

At the end of the day no matter the intention of participating, Dressember stands for something bigger than all of us. As the Dressember foundation reminds us, “it’s bigger than a dress.” Helping survivors and giving voices to the people impacted by human trafficking is the ultimate goal of Dressember. 

“Dressember is very important to me because it’s very important to speak out for other girls who are too nervous or too scared to speak up for themselves. I really just want to become a voice for them,” said Phillips.