Ball State students participate in Dressember to raise money, awareness for victims of human trafficking

<p>A few Ball State students are wearing dresses every day for this year's Dressember. Dressember is a campaign that uses fashion to advocate for exploited women and raise money and awareness for victims of human trafficking. <em>Dressember Foundation // Photo Courtesy</em></p>

A few Ball State students are wearing dresses every day for this year's Dressember. Dressember is a campaign that uses fashion to advocate for exploited women and raise money and awareness for victims of human trafficking. Dressember Foundation // Photo Courtesy

Human trafficking is the world's fastest growing criminal industry, according to a21.org. Someone becomes a victim of modern-day slavery every 30 seconds.

Wearing a dress to class in December may sound like an odd choice in wardrobe as snow drifts in the air. However, a few students are choosing a to wear dresses every day for a campaign that raises money and awareness for victims of human trafficking.

Mary Banning, the president of the International Justice Mission chapter at Ball State, is participating in Dressember this year with other members of IJM who have pledged to wear a dress all 31 days of the month.

Dressember is a non-profit organization that uses fashion to advocate for exploited women, according to the Dressember Foundation’s website. Men can also participate in Dressember by wearing a bowtie instead of a dress if they chose.

Banning said money raised during Dressember goes toward A21, a non-profit organization that works to fight human trafficking, including sexual exploitation and forced slave labor and the IJM global organization.

Human trafficking is the world's fastest growing criminal industry, according to a21.org. Someone becomes a victim of modern-day slavery every 30 seconds.

Banning was looking for an organization to join her freshman year in college that worked to change and bring awareness to human trafficking. She became passionate about the issue in high school on a mission trip in Cambodia. 

“I knew it happened in third-world countries, but I was very surprised to learn how it happens here too,” Banning said.

RELATED: International Justice Mission stands for 24 hours to raise awareness on human trafficking

Bailee Weaver, a Spanish and psychology major, is participating in Dressember. Joining Ball State's IJM taught her about the sex trafficking that happens in Indiana.

Indiana code defines sex trafficking is a person who recruits, harbors or transports another person by force, threat or force of fraud to engage another person into sexual activity.

There is a Youth Opportunity Center being built in New Castle to help victims and work with survivors in the community.

“The fact that we are building a shelter in our county shows how much help is needed,” Weaver said.

Human trafficking is an organized crime, Weaver said, and a lot of the times the crime is done over the internet on websites such as backpage.com.

"Girls ages 12 to 15 years old that do not have a lot of parental supervision are often the people that get targeted by pimps," she said.

The pimp will often find a vulnerable person, get to know them and eventually ask them to be his boyfriend or girlfriend. As the relationship progresses the pimp will begin to ask for “favors.” A favor may be to sleep his friends. The reward could be food, clothes, a manicure or “to not get beaten,” Weaver said.

Weaver’s goal this December is to raise $200 for IJM and A21. The money will go toward urgent needs of human trafficking survivors. 

If you are interested in donating, visit her page here.

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