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<br /> RESOLUTION NO. 296 22
<br /> A RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING JANUARY AS "SEX TRAFFICKING AWA NESS
<br /> MONTH" IN THE COUNTY OF AWAI`I.
<br /> WHEREAS, sex trafficking often affects the most vulnerable, such as those who
<br /> experience child abuse, sexual abuse, mental health issues, substance abuse,poverty,
<br /> immigration status issues, as well as susceptible children and runaway minors; and
<br /> WHEREAS, every year since 2010, the President of the United States has proclaimed
<br /> January as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month to bring awareness about
<br /> human trafficking, also known as modern slavery, and to advocate for the estimated 25 million
<br /> people who are being trafficked across the globe, including in the State of Hawaii; and
<br /> WHEREAS, on July 5, 2016, Governor David Y. Ige signed into law Act 206 that
<br /> explicitly bans sex trafficking in Hawaii, making it a violent crime and a Class A felony; and
<br /> WHEREAS, in January 2020, Khara Jabola-Carolus, member of the Hawaii State
<br /> Commission on the Status of Women, and Dominique Roe-Sepowitz, from Arizona State
<br /> University-Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research, published"Sex Trafficking in
<br /> Hawaii, Part III: Sex Trafficking Experiences Across Hawai`i," attached hereto as Exhibit A,
<br /> which documented the sex trafficking demographics in Hawaii and found that 64 percent of the
<br /> sex trafficking victims identified as Native Hawaiian; and
<br /> WHEREAS, on January 9, 2020, Governor David Y. Ige and Lieutenant Governor Josh
<br /> B. Green proclaimed January 2020 as "Sex Trafficking Awareness Month"; and
<br /> WHEREAS, in May 2020, the Department of the Attorney General established a
<br /> statewide human trafficking coordinator position, and through a multidisciplinary approach, is
<br /> working to improve Hawai`i's anti-trafficking response by collaborating with law enforcement
<br /> partners, increasing the number of prosecutions, developing training programs and prevention
<br /> strategies, and partnering with the community in public awareness, outreach, and education
<br /> campaigns; and
<br /> WHEREAS, on June 24, 2021, Governor David Y. Ige signed into law Act 68, a
<br /> comprehensive reform of Hawai`i's criminal sex trafficking laws that moved away from
<br /> punishing prostituted people to focusing on sex buyers and classifying sex trafficking as
<br /> "Commercial Sexual Exploitation" and "Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Minors"; and
<br /> WHEREAS, the Council recognizes the State entities, social providers, and community
<br /> advocates who are tirelessly working toward the elimination of sex trafficking in the State of
<br /> Hawaii; now,therefore,
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