Dressember: Fashionable fight against human trafficking | News | uatrav.com

Amid students bundled in coats and multiple layers this winter, one person stood out from the crowd. UA freshman Clara Ehorn has worn a dress every day since the beginning of December, not for personal preference, but to make a statement.

Ehorn works as an advocate for Dressember, an organization founded in 2009 by a single woman named Blythe Hill. Upon learning the severity of human trafficking, Hill said she decided to use her interests in fashion and blogging to raise awareness by wearing a dress all 31 days of December.

Since then, people from all over the world have banded together to join her. More than just a silly style challenge, these advocates have raised awareness and collectively raised over $15 million to fight against human trafficking, according to the organization's website.

This year is Ehorn's third time participating in Dressember. She described it as a fund, an organization and a movement.

“Typically in December, you don't really want to wear a dress since it's cold, especially in Arkansas,” Ehorn said. “The goal is to hopefully stand out in the fact that you're wearing a dress, and then they ask you and you can tell them the story of Dressember.”

Ehorn increases her fundraising goal each year and is currently aiming to raise $650. The money raised goes toward programs and individuals, specifically for trauma therapy, along with funding school supplies and refugee assistance.

Ehorn said she uses social media as her primary method of advocacy, posting a daily “dress of the day” on her Instagram story along with a trafficking statistic and a link to her Dressember page. This page includes both a link to donate and her personal story of why she is participating.

Being adopted from China, Ehorn is aware of the potential future she could have had.

“The area I was in was dangerous and I was very vulnerable to trafficking, especially because I was a girl,” Ehorn said.  “It would have been very easy for me to be trafficked, so the fact that I was fortunate enough that God put me in a family in America where that was not something I had to worry about, I want to help people who didn't have that opportunity.”

Ehorn convinced her boyfriend, John Brown University sophomore Aaron Devine, to assist in her fundraising efforts by agreeing to wear a dress if she is able to raise $150 through donations from people 25 and younger.

The intention is not necessarily to garner attention through Devine wearing a dress, but to bring awareness to a wider, younger audience that is often less likely to donate, the couple said.

“Through my network of friends, we were able to double her audience and so far have been able to generate even more awareness,” Devine said.

Ehorn has also encouraged her peers to participate as well. One of these people is her friend Erin Brasher, a fellow Benton resident who attends the Florida Institute of Technology.

“I actually learned about Dressember from Clara,” Brasher said. “After watching her do it for a few years, I decided I wanted to give it a try this December.”

Like Ehorn, Brasher posts a daily picture of her dress to her Instagram story to encourage donations and start conversations.

“I typically don't wear many dresses, so this is a little out of my comfort zone,” Brasher said. “But any time I have thoughts of discomfort or wishing I could just throw on a pair of sweatpants, it's a reminder to myself why I am doing this. There are people out there who are really suffering because of the trafficking industry. Thirty-one days of wearing dresses can't even compare to their pain.”

Aside from donating to Dressember funds, there are many other ways for college students to combat the issue of human trafficking.

Annie Smith, a law professor and director of the UA Human Trafficking Clinic, has extensively researched human trafficking throughout her career. While she has not worked directly with Dressember, she has been involved with similar organizations while also working to develop the Arkansas Labor Trafficking Awareness Project.

Smith encourages students who wish to get involved with anti-trafficking measures to donate to, fundraise or directly volunteer for reputable organizations working on the issue and providing aid for victims, she said.

“People impacted by this severe form of exploitation can have a variety of needs, including legal, health, dental, mental health and medical needs as well as for transportation, housing and employment,” Smith said in an email. “Students could volunteer for organizations that help to meet these needs or help to make these services more accessible generally.”

There are also ways to combat trafficking in the first place by confronting common sources of vulnerability and exploitation, Smith said.  These include advocating for people being excluded due to classism, homophobia, transphobia, or xenophobia.

“There are many ways students can help to ensure that communities are safe for everyone,” she said.

To donate to Dressember, individuals can visit Ehorn's page or the general fundraising page on the organization's website.

“When you donate to Dressember, you support prevention, intervention and survivor empowerment programs around the world,” Ehorn said on her page. “Let's be the generation to #endit.”