HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	100
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the department of the attorney general to establish a statewide program to address the needs of victims of human trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

 

 

 

        WHEREAS, twenty-three percent of human trafficking survivors in Hawaii report that they were children when they were first sex trafficked; and

 

        WHEREAS, sixty-four percent of human trafficking survivors in the State identified as being Native Hawaiian; and

 

        WHEREAS, foster children and runaways having histories of abuse and neglect are particularly vulnerable to human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation; and

 

        WHEREAS, LGBTQ+ youth, immigrants, undocumented workers, and youth suffering from mental illnesses and substance abuse issues are also at particularly high risk; and

 

        WHEREAS, victims are often lured into human trafficking through emotional manipulation and control, force, fraud, or threats, and many lack the ability or resources to escape and start a new life; and

 

        WHEREAS, human trafficking can be difficult to detect, and exploited youth may not seek help or identify themselves as victims; and

 

        WHEREAS, a victim-centered and offender-focused program is critically needed to serve individuals, and especially children, in the State who have been sexually exploited; and

 

        WHEREAS, in 2020, the Department of the Attorney General hired a Statewide Coordinator on Human Trafficking to assist with a statewide response to human trafficking; now, therefore,

        BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, the Senate concurring, that the Department of the Attorney General is requested to develop and implement a program to prevent and to assist victims of human trafficking and child commercial sexual exploitation; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the program should assess the current status of the State's anti-trafficking response and should develop and implement statewide strategies to address offender accountability through coordinated law enforcement efforts, prosecutions, and crime prevention efforts; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the program should also develop and implement plans to provide increased support and assistance to survivors of human trafficking and survivors of the commercial sexual exploitation of children; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of the Attorney General is requested to submit a report to the Legislature no later than December 1, 2021, assessing the State's efforts to address the commercial sexual exploitation of children and providing plans and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, for prevention strategies, victim assistance programs, law enforcement efforts, data collection, and public outreach and education programs; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of the Attorney General is also requested to submit a report to the Legislature no later than December 1, 2022, assessing the State's efforts to address human trafficking and providing plans and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, for prevention strategies, victim assistance programs, law enforcement efforts, data collection, and public outreach and education programs; and

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Attorney General and Statewide Coordinator on Human Trafficking.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

AG; Statewide Coordinator on Human Trafficking; Sex Trafficking; Child Commercial Sexual Exploitation