18 Voices Against Trafficking: Inspiring Interviews from the Dressember Movement

How Fashion, Creativity, and Mental Health Awareness Drive the Advocacy For Some Individuals

Each December, I participate in some way in Dressember. It’s an online initiative to raise awareness about issues of human trafficking through fashion and creative social sharing. In 2023, I used my Substack newsletter as a space for interviewing other participants to amplify their voices as they raise awareness and funds to combat human trafficking.

This is the archive of all of those interviews, along with some key roundups about poignant things that they shared.

Here’s my own interview or “why I do it”:

Kathryn Answers 12 Questions About Dressember

Collected answers to key questions:

What Does Dressember Mean to Different Participants?

What Does "Mental Health" Mean to Dressember Participants?

What Does Creative Expression Look Like In The Fight Against Human Trafficking?

How Art and Mental Health Intersect in the Dressember Fight Against Human Trafficking

Creativity, Mental Health, and Behind the Scenes of Dressember Activism

Individual interviews

• Meet Kristen T, a military spouse raising awareness about human trafficking: "How can we better support each other through life and its struggles? How can we celebrate our small or big wins?"

• Meet Brenda Vale, raising awareness about human trafficking. Wearing a dress daily as an act of self-care as well as a way to combat human trafficking around the globe.

• Meet Claire Sutcliffe-Campo, taking a unique Dressember approach. Raising awareness about human trafficking concerns while raising funds for The National Deaf Children's Society.

• Meet Library Lady Life, Disneybounding through Dressember. Raising awareness about human trafficking through Disney fashion.

• Meet Naomi, A Teenager Making a Difference in the Battle Against Human Trafficking. "It feels amazing knowing that I, an American high school sophomore, can change lives worldwide."

• Meet Alysa, in her 11th Year raising awareness and fighting human trafficking. "I think it's so easy to fall into a false sense of security as someone in North America that it's something that only happens in other countries, not in this country, not to people I would know."

• Meet Kat Wesely, Exploring the Intersection of Creativity and Mental Health in the Fight Against Human Trafficking. "Every moment taken to pay attention to the world around you counts."

• Meet Kristy Howard, Healing Out Loud in the Fight Against Human Trafficking. "I’m not alone. You’re not alone. We fight this battle together, and for those who cannot fight for themselves right now."

• Meet Justine Drnjevic, Reminding Us for Dressember: "Our actions always have power." "The problem of human trafficking seems like an overwhelming task to tackle, but Dressember makes it accessible."

• Meet Christy MacCallum, Honoring the Need for Self-Awareness/ Self-Care in Dressember Activism. "What matters the most (in all activism) is finding the sustainable balance between creatively participating and taking care of yourself so that you can keep participating."

• Meet The Bearded Ladies Team! A London company making dresses in a fairtrade and sustainable way. We're a new company, making manly dresses for anyone, of any identity, who wants to wear 'em. We are wearing dresses (both our designs and others) every day in December.

• Len Dresses Up! Emphasizing the Humanity Behind Human Trafficking."Dressember does a really great job of humanizing the issue of human trafficking and telling victims’ stories in a way that is empowering and not further victimizing them."

• Meet Donia Webb, an Elementary School Teacher Who Joins the Fight Against Human Trafficking. "Dressember reaches the most marginalized groups of people, like runaways, LGBTQ+ youth, children in foster care, people of color, and people suffering with mental health disorders."

• Meet Chris, Embracing Genderfluidity to Raise Awareness in the Fight Against Human Trafficking. Dressember helped me become "me" in all the best ways. I will always be thankful to Blythe for creating this wonderful opportunity and as a result giving me the tools to explore my own gender identity

• Meet Dixie, Pursuing Justice Through the Arts in Dressember. "The only way that we will end human trafficking is by joining hands with EVERYONE to create waves of change."

• Meet Cyndi, Part of the Solution through Dressember. "No problem is too big to tackle. Together we can make a difference."

• Meet Lindy, Wearing a Dress as a Poster, Chant, March, Advertisement, Loud Speaker. Dressember fights human trafficking. Did you know that "less than 1% of victims are rescued? They need urgent intervention and radical hope."

• Meet Amy Stauter, Wearing The Same Dress Throughout Dressember to Fight Human Trafficking. Doing a small act for one month can make a big difference!

More info:

Interviews to Raise Awareness About The Impact of Human Trafficking

Dressember Guest Post by Brenda: Human Trafficking, a Michigan Problem

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