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, Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, Hawaii Children's Action Network Speaks!, Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii, Hoōla 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