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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 074 Draft 01 2022-2024 A RESOLUTION URGING AWARENESS AND PLEDGING SUPPORT TO PROTECT NATIVE HAWAIIAN WOMEN AND GIRLS FROM ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION. WHEREAS, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), in collaboration with the Hawai‘i State Commission on the Status of Women, published the first of a two-part report in December 2022 titled Holoi Ā Nalo Wāhine ‘Ōiwi: Missing and Murdered Native Hawaiian Women and Girls Task Force Report (MMNHWG Report); and WHEREAS, the MMNHWG Report states that the lack of data on the MMNHWG crisis gives the inaccurate appearance that this is not an issue that warrants further exploration and/or government resources, and thus it is often called “the invisible crisis”; and WHEREAS, the MMNHWG Report further states that “the invisible crisis” is due to: (1) the lack of recognition that Native Hawaiians are the indigenous people of Hawai‘i and that they continue to experience systemic racism, (2) no concerted effort has been made to thoroughly study and understand the MMNHWG crisis to allow for the development of a comprehensive effort to support and protect Native Hawaiian women and girls from harm, and (3) the avenues by which Native Hawaiian women and girls go missing or are murdered is complex and intertwined with historical inequities that are not fully acknowledged; and WHEREAS, according to the 2020 Census Data, as compiled by the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, Native Hawaiian women are more economically vulnerable than men, typically earning .57 cents to every dollar that white, non-Hispanic men earn; and WHEREAS, according to the MMNHWG Report: Indigenous women and girls, including Native Hawaiians, are far more likely to be victims of violence than any other population in the United States; In 2019, Hawai‘i had the eighth highest rate of missing persons per capita in the nation; From 2001 to 2021, more than one-quarter of missing girls in Hawai‘i are Native Hawaiian; From 2018 to 2021, there were 182 cases of missing Native Hawaiian girls on Hawai‘i Island, higher than any other racial group; and From 2018 to 2021, Native Hawaiian children ages 15 to 17 represented the highest number of missing children’s cases on Hawai‘i Island, with the most children reported missing in Hilo; and WHEREAS, a 2018 report by the Urban Indian Health Institute titled, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls: A snapshot of data from 71 urban cities in the United States, documented the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in the United States but did not include Hawai‘i or any information on Native Hawaiian women or girls; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I that the Council will work to increase awareness of the MMNHWG crisis by encouraging all residents of the County of Hawai‘i to learn to recognize the signs of sex trafficking and abuse and to have the compassion and courage to report incidences to authorities. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council commits to working with all government and private stakeholders to ensure that Native Hawaiian women and girls receive the services and support required to protect them from being abused and exploited. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council commits to supporting the Hawai‘i County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney and the Hawai‘i County Police Department in collecting relevant data on MMNHWG, to be shared with OHA or the Council upon request, to further address this issue in a meaningful way. BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the County Clerk shall transmit a copy of this resolution to the Honorable Josh Green, M.D., Governor, State of Hawai‘i; all members of the Hawai‘i State Legislature; the Honorable Mitchell D. Roth, Mayor, County of Hawai‘i; Benjamin Moszkowicz, Chief of Police, County of Hawai‘i; Kelden Waltjen, Prosecuting Attorney, County of Hawai‘i; Khara Jabola-Carolus, Executive Director, Hawai‘i State Commission on the Status of Women; and Farrah-Marie Gomes, Chair, Hawai‘i County Committee on the Status of Women. Dated at _____________, Hawai‘i, this ______ day of ___________________, 20___. INTRODUCED BY: _______________________________________ COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I _______________________________________ COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I COUNTY COUNCIL County of Hawai‘i Hilo, Hawai‘i ROLL CALL VOTE    AYES NOES ABS EX   EVANS       GALIMBA       I hereby certify that the foregoing RESOLUTION was by the vote indicated to the right hereof adopted by the COUNCIL of the County of Hawai‘i on _____________________________________. INABA       KAGIWADA       KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER       KIERKIEWICZ      ATTEST: KIMBALL       LEE LOY       VILLEGAS              Reference:  COUNTY CLERK CHAIRPERSON & PRESIDING OFFICER RESOLUTION NO.