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Jennifer Kagiwada o°•'�� ��, Office:(808) 961-8272
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HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL - DISTRICT 2
25 Aupuni Street• Hilo,Hawaii 96720
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Date: March 20, 2023
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To: Heather L. Kimball, Chairperson
And Members of the Hawaii County Council
From: Jennifer Kagiwada, Council Member_
Council District 2, South Hilo
Sue Lee Loy, CouncilMem
Council District 3, South Hilo eau
Re: Presentation by Nikki Cristobal, Ph.D., Kamawaelualani, MMNHWG Task Force
We respectfully request approximately 15 minutes for a presentation by Nikki Cristobal, Ph.D.,
the author of"Holoi a nalo Wahine `Oiwi"the Missing and Murdered Native Hawaiian Women
and Girls Task Force report. This presentation will be followed by approximately 30 minutes for
Q & A and discussion with the presenter.
The purpose of this presentation is to increase awareness of the Council Members and the public
regarding addressing abuse and exploitation of Native Hawaiian women and girls as well as the
need for adequate data to be collected on this subject.
This presentation is part of the discussion on Resolution 74-23. Please place this item on the
appropriate committee agenda for April 18, 2023. Due to the presenter's schedule, please
schedule her presentation between 11:00am-3:00pm.
Thank you.
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May 5, 2022 marked the largest coordinated, multi-island commemoration of National Missing and
Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls,and Two-Spirit(MMIWG2S)Awareness Day in Hawaii to date.The
unity of diverse ceremonies and communities generated strong emotions and relationships that have
carried this report forward. Photo:Jason Lees
We recognize that we occupy Kanaka Maoli land and acknowledge the original peoples of this land as Kanaka Maoli.We
recognize that her majesty Queen Lili'uokalani was illegally overthrown in 1893.We further recognize the ancestors and
descendants of Kanaka Maoli and their ways of knowing and being that have protected Hawaii in the past,present,and
future.
This report is in solidarity with and recognition of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women,Girls,and Two-Spirit
(MMIWG2S) movement that originated in Canada and across Turtle Island.We recognize and honor the Indigenous peoples
of Canada and Turtle Island in their struggles and strengths in setting precedence for the voices of native peoples across
the Pacific and the world to be heard in ending violence.We mahalo the tribal nations who have created space for Kanaka
Maoli to be a part of the MMIWG2S movernent.
This is the first report of a two-part report.Part II will have more comprehensive information about MMNHWG and will be
available in 2023.
Suggested citation:
Cristobal,N.(2022).Holoi a nalo W5hine'0iwi:Missing and Murdered Native Hawaiian Women and Girls Task Force Report
(Part 1). Office of Hawaiian Affairs;Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women:Honolulu,HI.
Principal Investigator:
Nikki Cristobal, Ph.D., Karnawaelualani,MMNHWG Task Force
Editors:
Khara Jabola-Carolus,J.D., Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women,MMNHWG Task Force,Co-Chair
Lisa Watkins-Victorino,Ph.D.,Office of Hawaiian Affairs,MMNHWG Task Force,Co-Chair
Copyright @ 2022 Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
560 N.Nimitz Hwy.,Suite 200
Honolulu,HI 96817
Phone:(808)594-1835
Fax:(808)594-1865
Website:www.oha.org
Email:info@oha.org
All rights reserved.
Printed in Honolulu,Hawaii
Published in December 2022.
A publication of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in collaboration with Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women
MMNHWG REPORT 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Summary of Key Findings 4
Introduction 6
Scope of Report 7
Methodology(Data Sources) 8
Organization of Report 9
Background 10
Timeline of Sex Trade Expansion in Hawaii 12
MMNHG Systemic Inequities 14
Preliminary Findings 15
Barriers 15
Murdered and Missing 16
Preliminary Recommendations 18
Universal, Systemized Data Collection 18
Lessons Learned 19
Future Directions 19
References 20
41 MMNHWG REPORT
May 5th, • • Dress
• of the NationalDay of
and Murdered IndigelIOLIS Women,Girls,and Two-Spirit
people • • • .
SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS
Native Hawaiian women and girls experience effort on the part of the federal or state govern-
violence at rates disproportionate to their popula- ment to understand and prevent MMNHWG; and
tion size. Because of a lack of accessible data and 3) the avenues by which Native Hawaiian women
a systemic disregard for the safety and wellbeing and girls go missing or are murdered is complex
of Native Hawaiian women and girls on the part and intertwined with persistent historical inequi-
of government entities, the scope of the Missing ties that many people with legislative power fail
and Murdered Native Hawaiian Women and Girls to recognize are continuing to affect the condi-
(MMNHWG) crisis is incomplete. Statistics on tion of Native Hawaiians today.
MMNHWG are highly limited. Therefore, the sta-
tistics presented in this report must be interpret- For this report, the term "Native Hawaiian Women
ed with the understanding that the true scope of and Girls Violence" or "NHWG violence," includes
the problem of MMNHWG is much larger than the the underlying social, economic, cultural, insti-
meager data available can demonstrate at this tutional, and historical causes that contribute
time. to the ongoing violence and systernic erasure of
Native Hawaiian women and girls.
The lack of data on MMNHWG and on Native
Hawaiian women and girls in general may leave "Missing"for this report is broadly defined as Na-
many with the perception that MMNHWG is not tive Hawaiian girls (persons under the age of 18)
an issue that warrants further exploration and/or who are deemed as "runaways" by law enforce-
government resources. Such perceptions direct- ment, meaning they voluntarily or involuntarily
ly fuel the continued erasure of Native Hawaiian fled from their parent/guardian and may or may
women and girls. The crisis of MMNHWG is often not return. Missing also includes Native Hawaiian
called "the invisible crisis" due to: 1) the lack of women and girls whose whereabouts are un-
recognition that Native Hawaiians are the Indig- known, including women and girls who are miss-
enous peoples of Hawaii and that they continue ing as a result of being trafficked and/or trapped
to experience systemic racism; 2) no concerted in the military-prostitution complex.
MMNHWG REPORT 5
"Murdered" for this report is defined as Native • 380/6 (N= 74) of those arrested for solic-
Hawaiian women and girls who are killed through iting sex from a thirteen-year-old online
violent physical means. It also includes Native through Operation Keiki Shield are ac-
Hawaiian women and girls who died under sus- tive-duty military personnel (Hawai'i Inter-
picious and/or complex circumstances such as net Crimes Against Children Task Force,
drug overdose and suicide. These definitions are 2022).
aligned with how other Indigenous nations are
defining violence within the Missing and Mur- In 2021, the Missing Child Center Hawaii
dered Indigenous Women and Girls movement. (MCCH) assisted law enforcement with
These definitions also allow for the accuracy of 376 recoveries of missing children. These
exploring and naming the specific mechanisms cases are only 1906 of the estimated 2,000
of the MMNHWG crisis such as sexual assault, cases of missing children in Hawaii each
domestic violence, child abuse, suicide, poverty, year (MCCH, 2021).
and disenfranchisement from the land. Expand- • On Hawaii Island, Kanaka Maoli children
ing the frame of exploration of MMNHWG beyond ages 15-17, represent the highest number
governmental definitions of missing and mur- of missing children's cases, with the most
dered creates space to center the experiences of children reported missing in area code
survivors and move toward community healing in 96720, Hilo (HawaN Island Police Depart-
a way that is accurate and respectful. ment, 2022).
2196 of HawaiTs total population (N= 1,441,553) • From 2018-2021, there were 182 cases
identifies as Native Hawaiian (U.S. Census Bureau, of missing Kanaka Maoli girls on Hawaii
2021). 10.20/6 of the total population of Hawaii Island, higher than any other racial group
identifies as a Native Hawaiian female, with (N= 1,175) (Hawai'i Island Police Depart-
47.60/6 of this population identified as females ment, 2022).
under the age of 18 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2021). . 570/6 of participants served through the
Mana'olana Program at Child & Family
• More than a quarter (1/4) of missing girls Services are Native Hawaiian females who
in Hawaii are Native Hawaiian (JJIS, 2001-
2021). have experienced human trafficking (Ma-
na'olana, CFS, 2021-2022).
• Hawai'i has the eighth highest rate of
missing persons per capita in the nation
at 7.5 missing people per 100,000 resi-
dents (Kynston, 2019).
• The average profile of a missing child: 15
year old, female, Native Hawaiian, missing
from Oahu (MCCH, 2022).
• The majority (430/6) of sex trafficking
cases are Kanaka Maoli girls trafficked in
Waikiki, O'ahu (Amina, 2022).
INTRODUCTION
Indigenous women and girls, including Policymakers have developed initiatives
Native Hawaiians, experience violence at in response to the crisis of murdered and
much higher rates than other populations missing Indigenous women and girls (MMI-
in the United States. Native communities WG) including the White House procla-
across Turtle Island (The North American mation of National Day of Awareness for
continent) have mobilized for governmen- Missing and Murdered Native Women and
tal resources and systemized responses to Girls in 2019 and Executive Order 13898
prevent violence against Indigenous wom- that creates task forces for missing and
en and girls. The leading causes of death murdered Indigenous peoples to address
for Indigenous girls ages 1-19 are (in order) concerns around data collection, policies,
unintentional injuries, suicide, and homo- and investigative responses. Since these
cide; whereas the leading causes of death legislative milestones, more than 12 states
for white girls ages 1-19 are unintentional have designated task forces to research
injuries, suicide, and cancer (CDC, 2016). MMIWG.This year (2022) marked the first
Indigenous women and girls are 10 times year that Kanaka Maoli (the Indigenous,
more likely to be murdered than women anachronous peoples of Hawaii) were
from other ethnic groups (UIHI, 2018), are formally recognized by a United States
2.5 times as likely to be raped than white President as belonging to the Indigenous
women, and are more likely to be raped populations disproportionately impacted by
by a perpetrator of a different race than interpersonal and systemic violence that
other racial groups (Bachman et al., 2008). leads to Native women and girls being mur-
A shocking 84.340 of Indigenous women dered and missing.
experience violence in their lifetime (Rosay,
2016),
v
e
/ MENEM
MMNHWG REPORT 7
SCOPE OF THE REPORT
Pursuant to H.C.R. 11, the Hawaii State Commis- MMNHWG. Members of the MMNHWG TF were
sion on the Status of Women (CSW) convened a selected and named by the Hawaii State Legisla-
Task Force to study Missing and Murdered Na- ture. The MMNHWG TF is unique in that it is the
tive Hawaiian Women and Girls (MMNHWG). The only MMIWG Task Force nationally that is led by a
Missing and Murdered Native Hawaiian Women government women's commission and native ad-
and Girls Task Force (MMNHWG TF) is adminis- vocacy organizations rather than by law enforce-
tered through the Hawaii State Commission on ment agencies. This is the first report to attempt
the Status of Women and the Office of Hawaiian to reliably indicate how many Kanaka Maoli
Affairs (OHA) and is comprised of individuals rep- women and girls are murdered and missing and
resenting over 22 governmental and non-govern- measure the responses of various governmental
mental organizations across Hawai'i that provide and nongovernmental services.
services to those who are impacted by violence
against Kanaka Maoli.The MMNHWG TF has the The MMNHWG TF, held seven virtual meetings
kuleana of understanding the drivers that lead to discuss the process for program-level data
to Kanaka Maoli women and girls to be missing collection and sharing and to engage in discourse
and murdered, to propose solutions, and to raise about the disposition of MMNHWG in their re-
public awareness about violence against Kanaka spective fields, departments, and programs. In
Maoli. The findings and recommendations in this between full task force meetings, the principal
report were provided to members of the MMN- investigator met with individual task force mem-
HWG TF for review and their insights were includ- bers to work on obtaining quantitative data from
ed. Any disparate agreement with the findings specific programs that provide direct service to
and recommendations will be noted. those impacted by MMNHWG.The data presented
about MMNHWG in this report were validated for
The MMNHWG TF chaired through CSW and OHA accuracy by members of the MMNHWG TF.
contracted with the principal investigator of this
report to conduct research to prepare reports on
0
PRINCIPLE
COMMISSION AGENCIES O .
81 MMNHWG REPORT
METHODOLOGY (DATA SOURCES)
This preliminary report includes two main sources of
information: 1) a comprehensive literature review; and
2) data obtained from state and community agencies.
The purpose of the literature review is to holistically un-
derstand the scope of the problem of MMNHWG and to
identify solutions informed by the pre-existing literature
base.
LANDThe following research questions were addressed for
this report:
CK
1. What are the demographic characteristics of
missing and murdered Kanaka Maoli women and
girls?
BODIES2. What are the ex eriences of survivin p g Kanaka
Maoli women and girls and their families as they
CK are navigated through and/or navigate the pro-
cess when recovered?
The full report will address additional research ques-
tions which can be found in Appendix A.
With the assistance of the MMNHWG TF, the principal
investigator obtained preliminary data and statistics to
help form a macro-level understanding of the scope and
extent of NHWG violence.
MMNHWG REPORT 9
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ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT
The crisis of MMNHWG is a highly complex story in place so the weaver can weave a pattern that
with multiple, intersecting layers that make up reveals itself as one weaves. The reader must be
the problem. Readers of this report can think of cognizant of the fact that this preliminary report
NHWG violence as a highly sophisticated 'eke lau is one pin in the larger weaving project of this
hala or a basket woven using lau hala (pandanus eke lau hala and the finished product requires far
leaves) and the traditional methods of Kana- more material and time in order to weave.
ka Maoli ulana or weaving. An 'eke lau hala has
several overlapping leaves that are tightly woven This report is organized from the piko out. Cur-
to fashion a functional item made for carrying or rent understandings of violence against NHWG
protecting items. What this report seeks to carry are discussed through the lens of historical trau-
and protect are the lives of Kanaka Maoli wornen ma and factors associated with NHWG violence
and girls. including specific systemic inequities that fuel
the crisis of MMNHWG.
When weaving, we start at the center-the piko.
The piko of NHWG violence is colonization. From
the piko, the weaver must set pins in place to
weave. These pins are where the lau hala are held
101 MMNHWG REPORT
BACKGROUND
Colonization and Kanaka Maoli Erasure in Hawaii, Kanaka Maoli women engaged in inter-
The piko (center) of NHVVG violence is coloniza- course with these men. Their gender and sexuali-
tion. Colonization is a structure that originates ty was non-monogamous and non-heteronorma-
from the history of Kanaka Maoli relationships tive. Kanaka Maoli women then became spaces
with colonial powers, such as the United States, of colonial violence, through the rapid decline of
and is upheld through various colonial mecha- the Kanaka Mach population from sexually trans-
nisms. In Hawaii, these colonial mechanisms mitted diseases to which they had no immunity.
are ideologies that justify the displacement and Furthermore, when businessmen from the U.S.
erasure of Kanaka Maoli through economic, so- and European nations established the whaling
cial, and environmental laws and practices of the industry in Hawaii in the 18th century, they came
United States government. to expect that Kanaka Maoli women would be
available to them for sex in exchange for material
In 1893, Queen Lili'uokalani, the last reigning goods, thus, introducing the concept of prostitu-
monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii was illegally tion parallel to the introduction of foreign capi-
overthrown and falsely imprisoned by an oligar- talistic systems of currency and exchange. When
chy of U.S. businessmen. Hawai'i's legal annex- a kapu (ban) was placed on prostitution, whalers
ation has yet to be ratified, meaning according and businessmen responded violently.
to the laws of the United States, the Kingdom
of Hawai'i, and the United Nations, Hawaii is -3= -
an independent nation heavily occupied by the Q n Sh y
United States. Through colonization, the laws of f ,
the United States that govern an illegally annexed
Independent Native Hawaiian nation, is pretense
for continued systemic violence via erasure and
displacement of Kanaka Maoli.
Kanaka Mach women are displaced by coloniza-
tion in unique ways. For example, Kanaka Maoli r
women are victims of gender-based violence
such as domestic violence and sexual assault
more than any other population in Hawaii (OHA
et al., 2020). Prior to the arrival of the first
colonizers from Britain in 1778, Kanaka Maoli
practiced gender fluid beliefs. In one of the first
acts of colonial displacement, U.S. missionaries
replaced Kanaka Maoli wornen's 'olelo Hawaii
names with Christian first names and a patrilineal
surname. Traditionally, names were passed down
matrilineally, so erasing and replacing Kanaka
Maoli narnes signified an ideological shift frorn
a Hawaii society that honored rnatrilineality to If I only knew how to soy one word in
one that was congruent with western patriarchy. their language.
Additionally, when British colonizers first arrived ----------------- -
MMNHWG REPORT II
Historically, Kanaka Maoli women were the first of systemic social and economic inequities that
to have their physical mana (spiritual power) kill and displace them.
controlled through violent, sexualized, patriarchal
colonial processes of erasure, sterilization, and The past has tangible impacts on the present and
birthing.Today, Kanaka Mach women continue to future. According to a study by Pokhrel & Herzog
be sexually subjugated. For example, the iconic (2014), 8190 of Kanaka Maoli college students
image of the scantly clothed, hip-shaking hula reported thinking about the loss of their ances-
dancer is one that makes Kanaka Maoli women tral lands, 8700 reported thinking about loss of
objects of sexual desire in the minds of foreign 'olelo Hawaii, 669/0 reported thinking about unfair
men. The commodifing and sexualizing of a treatment by the U.S.government, and 12-150/0
sacred Kanaka Maoli art form (hula) is validated reported thinking several times a day about the
through ideologies of Kanaka Maoli women as lack of respect for elders and traditional Kana-
uncivilized and needing salvation through rela- ka Maoli ways of being. These are factors that
tionships with white, western men. contribute to the prevalence of mental health
issues in Kanaka Mach. Speaking specifically to
Historical Trauma the ongoing effects of colonization on Kanaka
Colonization is not a one-off event of the past. Maoli health, Kanaka Mach on average, experi-
Colonization continues in practices of the pres- ence a shorter lifespan (Aluli et al., 2007,Johnson
ent. Today, colonization is maintained through et al,, 2004), a higher occurrence of heart attacks
imperialism via the heavy military presence and obesity (Mau et al., 2009), and higher rates of
and land holdings in Hawaii and capitalism via psychological and emotional difficulties (Burrage
the domination of the tourism industry. Both et al., 2021) than other major racial/ethnic groups
industries (military and tourism) are the most in Hawaii.Additionally, Kanaka Maoli have the
extractive industries in Hawaii in terms of envi- highest poverty, unemployment, and houseless-
ronmental and cultural resources. Militarism and ness rates of all major ethnic groups in Hawaii
tourism are justified through United States colo- (Look et al., 2020). Within compulsory education-
nial law that is upheld through the misplacement al systems Kanaka Maoli students perform lower
of Kanaka Maoli within the United States consti- on standardized tests, experience lower gradua-
tution.The Kingdom of Hawaii was not affiliated tion and college-going rates (Kana'iaupuni et al.,
with the United States during the writing of the 2021), are overrepresented in special education
United States constitution. Given that the United courses, and have lower math and reading pro-
States constitution and subsequent legislation ficiency rates than other racial/ethnic groups in
were not created with Kanaka Maoli in mind, Hawai'i (OHA, 2017).
those who remain the most constitutionally
protected by the power of the United States legal These statistics should be understood as conse-
system are people who are U.S. citizens, white, quences of colonization, rather than as a learned
male, upper class, and land-owning (i.e., the types or inherent deficiency of Kanaka Maoli individuals
of people who the law was written by and for). or communities. The harm caused by coloniza-
The State of HawaiTs current legal system was tion is intergenerationally transmitted in what is
built upon a foundation of Kanaka Mach erasure commonly known across disciplines as historical
that directly sustains the systemic inequities of trauma. Historical traurna is defined as "curnu-
today. An automatic acceptance of colonial juris- lative ernotional and psychological wounding
prudence that operates from a fallacy of equal across generations, including the lifespan, which
treatment regardless of race/ethnicity, class, emanates from massive group trauma" (Brave
gender/sexuality, etc ensures that Kanaka Maoli Heart et al., 2011, p. 283).
women and girls continue to be lost within a web
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141 MMNHWG REPORT
MMNHG SYSTEMIC INEQUITIES
Systemic inequities are closely woven to the prevalence of NHWG violence. Systemic inequities create
material conditions that make everyday life a challenge. Some may refer to these systemic inequities
as "risk factors"for being murdered and missing. Using the term "systemic inequities" is a way to be
more deliberate with naming the mechanisms of violence against Kanaka Maoli women and girls as a
social epidemic needing systemic responses
In 2021,9.895 of Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander fami- men (Anderson&Williams-Baron,2017;OHA,2018).
lies were living in poverty compared to 8.0910 of the total The largest disparities in terms of poverty status for
population.General povery rates show that 13.395 of Kanaka Maoli women and girls is at age 15 (5%higher
Native Hawaiians live in poverty compared to 11.2910 of than non-Native Hawaiian females)and at ages 25-34
the total population (U.S.Census Bureau,2021). Kanaka (over 10910 higher than non-Native Hawaiian males
Maoli women are impacted adversely by race and also and 4.195 higher then Native Hawaiian males of the
by gender.The gender wage gap is the disparity be- same age) (OHA,2018).These ages are vital to healthy
tween what men are paid and what women are paid on human development since adolescence is a time of
average.In Hawaii,Kanaka Maoli women are paid 29910 critical growth.
less than white men and 18%less than Kanaka Mach
SUBSTANCE DEPENDENCE
Substance abuse,such as binge drinking and illicit drug in Hawai'i (HHDW, BRFSS,2020).52.995 of Kanaka Maoli _
use,are spiritual disconnectors that can lead to Kanaka high school girls have tried illicit drugs,which is 15.895
Maoli erasure through death.Kanaka Mach,for exam- higher than non-Kanaka Maoli girls and 1795 higher than
ple,are two times more likely to die of alcohol-induced for Kanaka Maoli boys (HHDW,YRBS,2019).
cirrhosis than the overall average for all ethnic groups
FOSTER1 CRIMINAL JUSTICE INVOLVEMENT
Kanaka Maoli children are overrepresented in place- 44.4910(N=151) of"street youth,"including those who
ment in the Hawaii Department of Human Services are homeless and runaways,are Kanaka Maoli,the
(DHS) Child Welfare Services (GWS)foster care system. largest percentage of any racial/ethnic group in Hawai'i
In 2019,4595 of children in foster care in Hawaii (N= (Yuan et al.,2018).More than one in 10 homeless youth
1,238)were Kanaka Mack (DHS,CWS 2021). on O'ahu reported selling sex to survive on the streets,
with two-thirds (6595)of these youth reporting that
they were forced by a third party(Yuan et al.,2018).
MMNHWG REPORT 15
PRELIMINARY FINDINGS
BARRIERS
A common barrier to deeply understanding NHWG
Kanaka Maoli have been left out of dominant dis- violence is that Kanaka Maoli are often misclassi-
course and federal resource allocation to address fied as belonging to other racial categories. In the
violence against Indigenous communities in the high-profile case of missing six-year-old Isabella
U.S.The highly marginalized nature of Kanaka Kalua, mainstream news outlets failed to identify
Maoli within the already sparse data on MMIVVG her as Kanaka Maoli. Isabella Kalua was reported
contributes to public and legislative sentiment as Caucasian.
that MMNHWG is not a problem.
Because of the siloed nature of response to
There is no uniform and streamlined way that community concerns in Hawaii by island and by
data is collected on Kanaka Maoli by various governmental department, data sharing between
agencies across Hawaii. Governmental agencies islands and agencies to holistically understand
and nonprofit organizations that work closely the problem of MMNHWG and collaboratively
with lived experience survivors of NHWG violence enact solutions is not streamlined in a way that
either do not collect data that is disaggregated makes data requests timely and feasible for Com-
by race or collect data in a way that is not easily munity awareness and research.
extractable for use in research. Using an intersec-
tional approach to inquiry, sex/gender data is also In addition to inconsistent and absent data col-
either not collected or is not disaggregated by lection processes, sexual and physical violence
race. For instance, many governmental agencies are highly underreported crimes because of fear
collect sex data using the categories of male, fe- of retribution and the shame associated with
male and Native Hawaiian, but do not specifically victim-blaming.
collect data on Kanaka Maoli females.
i -
.
The lack of disaggregated data is further compli-
cated by the inconsistencies in racial definitions
when race data is collected. There are four main
counties in Hawaii: Kauai, Maui, Honolulu, and
Hawaii. The police departments in each coun-
ty are responsible for responding to crimes and �EMAIJD
recording data for their entire jurisdiction using JUSTICE FOR
their own methods. Therefore, data are handled wAIK I K I MISSIN(n AND
differently by county.All police department repre-
sentatives stated that a barrier to understanding CAPITOL OF NATWE HAWAIIA
WC)MEN GIRLS
the problem of MMNHWG is because the data is THE PACIFIC q�jp f,IIANU
only as good as what is reported at the tirne of
the incident. Often tirnes this rneans that race
data are not collected at all.
Photo:
161 MMNHWG REPORT
MURDERED AND MISSING
The average profile of a missing child
HAWAII ISLAND: Marto Moku report processed through the Miss-
ing Children's Center Hawaii (MCCH):
a Kanaka Mach woman, went 15-year-old, female, Native Hawaiian,
missing at age 33 in Hilo, Ha- missing from O'ahu (MCCH 2022).
wai'i in September 2008. Marlo
Moku's crashed vehicle was Of the 37 cases publicly reported by
found at the bottom of a cliff MCCH between 2020-2022, the aver-
at Hakalau Mill Landing and evidence suggests age age of a missing child is 15-years-
there did not appear to be a person inside the old, 770/6 are fernale, 840/6 are Native
vehicle when it was rolled off the cliff. Searches Hawaiian, and 710/60 went missing on
for Marlo Moku have been unsuccessful. Marlo Oahu. Of the 71°b of cases tied to Oahu
Moku's case remains open and unsolved.
the only district information available
located missing children from South
0`AHU: Lisa Au, a 19 year old Oahu (one from Ewa Beach, two from
Kanaka Maoli University of Kalihi, and two frorn Waikiki) (MCCH,
Hawaii Manoa college student 2022).
and hair stylist, went missing
From 2011-2021 26°0 of all missing fe-
on January 20, 1982, on O'ahu.
She was last seen getting food
males age 17 and below were Hawaiian/
on her way to Makiki. Her naked body was discov- part-Hawaiian girls (n= 254) and rep-
resented 13°b (N- 504) of all missing
erect in a ravine near Tantalus. Her now 40-year- children's cases in Hawaii (JJIS, 2022).
old case remains cold and her murderer has yet
to be identified and brought to justice.
e
May 5th,
NationalD. 01ahu.The Red Dress is an inter-
national
symbolof -• by -•
MMNHWG REPORT 17
VIOLENCE Out of all those arrested through Operation Keiki
Shield, 3896 (N=74) were active-duty military
Domestic Violence personnel. These military personnel were arrested
37.696 of adults who experience physical violence both off and on military bases as part of non-mil-
by an intimate partner in Hawaii are Indigenous itary covert operations that targeted civilians
(including Native American/American Indian and off-base and "military ops" between the U.S.
Native Hawaiian), higher than any other racial military and local law enforcement to arrest on-
group (HHDW, BRFSS, 2013). base offenders who commit internet-facilitated
sexual crimes against children (HICAC Task Force,
In 2017, of the 29.996 of high school students who 2022). For example, 2596 of the offenders arrest-
report being emotionally abused by an intimate ed in a March 2019 operation, which was not a
partner in the past 12 months, 3896 are Kanaka "military op" and which was the only documented
Maoli females, which is higher than Kanaka Maoli non-military Operation Keiki Shield operation on
males or females of other ethnicities (HHDW, Oahu since 2019, were military men.The ma-
YRBS, 2017). jority of non-military, civilian operations have
been conducted on Kauai and Maui, which have
Untangling the web of inequities that maintain a significantly smaller military population than
NHWG violence, domestic violence (DV) is the Oahu. None of the offenders arrested have been
leading cause of homelessness for women and women.
children (NNEDV, 2017). 2296 of O'ahu's home-
less Kanaka Maoli population report experiencing Commercial Sexual Exploitation
intimate partner violence compared to 1896 of There are at least 85 known sex traffickers in Ha-
non-Kanaka Maoli. Of the 2296, 1496 are unshel- wai'i. Majority of known sex traffickers in Hawaii
tered compared to 1196 of non-Kanaka Maoli. 2296 are male (8396) and the most common relation-
of DV survivors filing a Temporary Restraining ship a trafficker has with a victim is a pimp (3696)
Order (TRO) are Kanaka Maoli (OHA et al., 2020). (Amina, 2022).
Sexual Assault 5996 of clients (N= 147; n= 86) served through
Of the 10.896 of high school students who report- Susannah Wesley Community Center between
ed being sexually abused by anyone in the last 12 October 2021-May 2022 are trafficking victims.
months, 16.596 were Kanaka Maoli females; higher 3796 of cases are sex trafficking cases, the major-
than females of all other racial groups (HHDW, ity (8696) are female and (4596) are Native Hawai-
YRBS, 2019). ian/part-Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
(Amina, 2022).
Of the 6.196 of middle school students who re-
ported being sexually abused by anyone in the 7196 of trafficking victims are below the age of
last 12 months, 7.896 were Kanaka Maoli females; 19 and 46.896 of all cases are Commercial Sexual
higher than females of other racial groups and Exploitation of Children (CSEC) cases and Child
Kanaka Maoli males (HHDW, YRBS, 2019). Sex Trafficking cases (Amina, 2022).
In 2019, majority of arrested adult sex offenders
were white males (DAG, 2019).
181 MMNHWG REPORT
PRELIMINARY RECOMMENDATIONS
This report should be contextualized as a stepping stone to continuing this work. It will take many
more years of targeted efforts in research, policy, and practice to gain the data necessary to under-
stand the full scope of violence against NHWG and implement recommendations that can prevent this
violence from continuing.
UNIVERSAL, SYSTEMIZED DATA COLLECTION
Although the lack of data about MMNHWG is evi- Data collection is specifically hindered by:
dent, the data that is available, and the experienc- 1. A lack of disaggregated racial data,-
es
ata;es of survivors of NHWG violence, demonstrates a
critical need for more structured, systematic, and 2. A lack of data collection regarding race/
streamlined data collection between governmen- ethnicity, gender/sexuality, and other de-
urographic indicators in general;
tal agencies.
3. A lack of a uniform and clear process for
Colonization, as embedded in every inch and sharing data publicly and between agen-
corner of every system, rneans that quantitative cies;
data is not neutral. Indigenous erasure happens
not only via the murder and displacing of NHWG, 4. Underreporting of crimes that lead to
but also the erasure of NHWG in the data itself. MMNHWG such as sex trafficking; and
The conflating of "Native Hawaiian" with "Oth-
er Pacific Islander" and "Native Hawaiian" with 5. Racial misidentification.
"Asian" leaves the statistical story of violence Although data aggregation is often used as an
against NHWG incomplete. approach to increase sample size and statistical
power when analyzing data from smaller popu- _
Survivors of violence, family members of survi- lation groups, it can limit the understanding of
vors, and service providers are keen to the real- disparities among diverse subpopulations such as
ities of this crisis in Hawaii and data collection Kanaka Mach. The data that does exist regarding
efforts by governmental agencies need to better the systemic inequities that lead to MMNHWG
reflect these realities. is typically not disaggregated by race/ethnicity
and is not stored by the DOH or other entities
Given the sensitive and complex nature of NHWG in a way that allows for multivariate analyses or
violence, the current state of incomplete and analyses that can look at multiple variables (i.e.,
inconsistent data collection on NHWG violence Race AND sex AND age) at once. The scarcity of
across law enforcement and other governmental reliable, disaggregated data that can be analyzed
agencies, it is highly likely that the true depth of with the complexity that understanding the crisis
the problem of NHWG violence is underestimat- of MMNHWG requires is a huge barrier to under-
ed. standing problerns and solutions.
MMNHWG REPORT 19
LESSONS LEARNED
Representatives from critical entities are un- enforcement representatives shared that suspi-
involved in responding to the MMNHWG crisis. cious deaths and suicides are determined by the
Namely, representatives from the United States coroner. Most Task Force members were unaware
military and the tourism sector are absent from of the role of the coroner's office in understand-
this process and are not encouraged by the ing the problem of MMNHWG.
legislature to participate in this report. Lack of
representation on the MMNHWG Task Force is This preliminary report demonstrated that while
problematic given that the military and tourism there is data on contextual factors such as do-
are two of the biggest industries in Hawai'i and mestic violence, sexual assault, and commercial
are also the most extractive in terms of natural sex exploitation, there is less data available on
resources and land holdings. characteristics, such as race, for data directly
related to murdered and missing NHWG. This
During the process of discussing the various data preliminary report exemplified that even among
points identified as important to understanding service providers reporting of data is limited.
the extent of missing and murdered NHWG, law
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
Enriching the data collection process by engaging in a qualitative research design allows for the cen-
tering of the experiences of key experts in the field. Key experts in the field include lived experience
survivors or those who have or are currently experiencing NHWG violence and their families. Key ex-
perts also include social workers, therapists, law enforcement officers, military personnel, hospitality
and tourism administrators, coroners, activists, etc.The creation of MMNHWG Task Force focus groups
is a proposed way to strengthen data collection and strengthen our understanding of MMNHWG.
If ABU
got
May 5,
11
2022 •
201 MMNHWG REPORT
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MMNHWG Preliminary Report (Part One)
Produced by the OHA COmmUnic@tlons Department
Principal Investigator
Nikki Cristobal
Editors
Khara Jabola-Carolus
Lisa Watkins-Victorino
Editorial Review and Contributions
Puanani Fernandez-Akamine
Keone Oldroyd
Graphic Design/Layout
Joshua Koh
MAHALO
Mahalo to Papa Ola Lokahi Inc. for providing funding for a researcher to complete this report. Mahalo
to Representative Stacelynn Eli for her advocacy for MMNHWG. To the Urban Indian Health Institute
for their guidance and training in addressing violence against native women and girls in Hawaii and
across Turtle Island. To the MMNHWG Task Force members who have given of their time to provide
insight, feedback, and engage in efforts to acquire data. Last but not least, the Missing and Murdered
Native Hawaiian Women and Girls Task Force would like to acknowledge the many native women and
girls and their 'ohana who have been impacted by violence.
THIS REPORT CREATED IN COLLABORATION
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