Worldwide, more than 40 million people were victims of slavery last year. Of that number, 71 percent were women and 25 percent were children, according to the Walk Free Foundation and the International Labour Organization.

When Sophia Clinton learned about the prevalence of modern slavery, she decided to do something about it. Along with her friends at Jamesville-DeWitt High School, the sophomore has decided to wear a dress every day this December to raise money for Dressember, a nonprofit organization that fights slavery and human trafficking both in the United States and abroad.

“A lot of causes are really great, strong causes, but a lot of times you don’t really feel like you can do anything about it,” Clinton said. “If I start wearing a dress every day, people are going to start to be like, ‘What the heck? Why is she wearing a dress every day?’ … And then they’ll start getting curious.”

The money Clinton raises will eventually be passed along to one of Dressember’s three anti-slavery partners, including a local organization, the McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center in Syracuse.

The Child Advocacy Center provides services for survivors of child trafficking, including an emergency shelter, medical care and mental health counseling. It also trains professionals who work with children to recognize signs of abuse and respond when a child discloses abuse or exploitation.

Clinton often reminds people that human trafficking — the use of coercion or deception to force people into commercial sex or labor services — happens close to home, as well as abroad. Since 2007, the National Human Trafficking Hotline has received 5,687 calls from New York, involving more than 4,000 possible victims.

The hotline’s website lists common signs of human trafficking. These include lack of freedom to come and go at home or at work, low pay or no pay at all, extreme debt, fear and anxiety, poor health with no medical care, lack of control over personal belongings or personal finances and inconsistencies in personal history.

People who suspect that someone is being trafficked can call a 24-hour hotline or submit an anonymous tip online.

Clinton, who spoke about her fundraiser at All Saints Church in Syracuse on Sunday, said she received more positive responses than she was expecting from parishioners at the church and other community members.

Clinton said wearing a dress for a month was originally meant to unify women in a common struggle, since women make up a majority of the people who are in slavery.

“We’ve started to realize, ‘Hey, men are interested in this, too,’” Clinton said. “So we started saying guys can dress up or wear a tie, and a lot of guys have started to get involved in it.”

Clinton said she hopes to raise at least $500 for Dressember by the end of the month.

“It’s affecting a lot of people that are kind of like me,” Clinton said. “So I could help them … have a normal life like I take advantage of every day.”

Published on December 5, 2017 at 10:08 pm

Contact Madeleine: mdavison@syr.edu