STAND. COM. REP. NO. 989
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: S.C.R. No. 8
S.D. 2
Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi
President of the Senate
Thirty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2021
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 8, S.D. 1, entitled:
"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE HAWAII STATE COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN TO CONVENE A TASK FORCE TO STUDY MISSING AND MURDERED NATIVE HAWAIIAN WOMEN AND GIRLS,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women to convene a task force to study missing and murdered Native Hawaiian women and girls.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Judiciary, Department of Health, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hawai‘i State Commission on the Status of Women, Hawai‘i Children's Action Network Speaks!, Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawai‘i, Ho‘ōla Nā Pua, and six individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Youth Services Network.
Your Committee finds that missing and murdered native women is a human rights crisis that disproportionately affects indigenous peoples in the United States and Canada, notably those in Native American communities.
Your Committee further
finds that there are concerns about the high rate of sexual violence against
Native Hawaiian women. Native Hawaiians represent the largest ethnic
group among sex abuse victims and Native Hawaiian girls are over-represented
among juvenile runaways, but until recently no comprehensive data on the prevalence
of sex trafficking victimization among Native Hawaiians was available. Your Committee additionally finds that, given
the potential prevalence of sex trafficking, sexual exploitation, and sexual
abuse of Native Hawaiians and the lack of reliable information related to this
risk, more data is needed to understand and address the social and systemic
contexts of violence against Native Hawaiian women and girls, including their
murder or disappearance.
Your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Clarifying language comparing the amounts earned by native Hawaiian women relative to men;
(2) Requesting that the task force submit its preliminary and final report forty days prior to the Regular Sessions of 2023 and 2024, respectively, instead of twenty days prior; and
(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 8, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 8, S.D. 2.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,
|
|
________________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair |
|
|
|