THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

131

TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the University of hawaii College on social sciences public policy center and Spark M. matsunaga institute for peace and conflict resolution to collaborate with state agencies and advocacy organizations to develop a comprehensive plan that coordinates statewide policies and services for victims and survivors of human trafficking in hawaii.

 

 


     WHEREAS, human trafficking is one of the fastest growing criminal industries in the world, where traffickers use force, violence, fraud, or coercion to prey on victims through labor or commercial sex; and

 

     WHEREAS, federal law defines "severe forms of human trafficking in persons" as:

 

     (1)  Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained eighteen years of age; or

 

     (2)  The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purposes of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery; and

 

     WHEREAS, victims of human trafficking may be adults or children, United States citizens or foreign nationals, or male or female; and

 

     WHEREAS, human trafficking can involve school-aged children who are vulnerable to coerced labor exploitation, domestic servitude, or commercial sexual exploitation; and

 

     WHEREAS, sex traffickers target children because of their vulnerability and gullibility, as well as the market demand for young victims; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section reports that almost three hundred thousand American children are at risk for trafficking into the sex industry; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii received an "F" grade on a report card issued by Shared Hope International and American Center for Law and Justice because Hawaii has not enacted a human trafficking law that includes the crime of sex trafficking; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii received a four out of a possible ten score on the Polaris Project's 2011 annual state ratings report regarding the enactment and strength of laws to combat human trafficking; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2012, the House of Representatives concurring, that the University of Hawaii College of Social Sciences Public Policy Center (Public Policy Center) and Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (Matsunaga Institute) are requested to collaborate with appropriate governmental agencies and advocacy organizations to develop a comprehensive plan that coordinates statewide policies and services for victims and survivors of human trafficking in Hawaii; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in collaborating with governmental agencies and advocacy organizations, the Public Policy Center and the Matsunaga Institute establish a working group to:

 

     (1)  Identify what protocols, procedures, and statutory safeguards exist to protect minors who are victims or potential victims of human trafficking;

 

     (2)  Explore options and models of best practices for providing services to minors who are victims of human trafficking; and

      

     (3)  Identify effective strategies to control human trafficking of minors; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Public Policy Center and the Matsunaga Institute report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2013 their comprehensive plan to coordinate statewide policies and services for victims and survivors of human trafficking in Hawaii, including recommendations for changes in practices and procedures and any proposed legislation to better protect minors who are victims or at-risk of becoming victims of human trafficking; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Human Services, Director of the University of Hawaii College of Social Sciences Public Policy Center, and Director of the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Human Trafficking