HI SR7

Requests the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women to convene a task force to study missing and murdered Native Hawaiian women and girls.

Task force co-chairs are the Executive Director of the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women and the Chief Executive Officer of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, with membership including Directors of Health and Human Services, the Attorney General, Administrative Director of the Courts, county police chiefs, and representatives from six community organizations.

Task force shall examine root causes, current data collection methods, barriers to data sharing, partnerships to increase reporting and investigations, and recommend necessary legislation to improve data collection and eliminate harm to indigenous women and girls.

Requires preliminary report to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the 2023 regular session and final report no later than twenty days before the 2024 regular session.

Background data shows Native Hawaiian women comprised 77.3 percent of sex trafficking victims in one Hawaii State Commission survey and 64 percent in another, with one-third of child sex trafficking victims reported to Child Welfare Services from 2017-2019 being Native Hawaiian girls.