SOTU: Native Hawaiian Sex Trafficking Survivors to Participate

HONOLULU (KHON2) – Sex trafficking in Hawaii is an experience many Native Hawaiians are forced to endure.

Sen Mazi K. Hirono works to bring to light the efforts and reality of what happens to women and girls and some boys and men as they are trafficked for human exploitation.

For the State of the Union Address, Sen. Hirono invites Native Hawaiian Kelly Grant to be the speaker. Joe Biden guest stars on Tuesday, February 7th at 9PM EST. She is Native Hawaiian, and she is a survivor of sex trafficking.

Last month, Sen. Hirono participated in a roundtable discussion with Grant, following Hirono’s passage of federal legislation giving Native Hawaiian survivors of gender-based violence access to critical programs and resources provided by the Violence Against Women Act. access is allowed.

“As a Native Hawaiian survivor of gender-based violence, Kelly Grant is working to help address the crisis of violence against Native women and girls. I look forward to her work to raise awareness and support other survivors. Appreciate and appreciate the commitment, and I am honored to have him as my guest for President Biden’s State of the Union Address,” said Sen. Hirono.

To all Recent Statistics on Sex Trafficking in Hawaii Provides data for 2019, before the pandemic hit. In Hawaii, sixty-four percent of sex trafficking victims were Hawaiians; And for those who experienced sexual abuse before age 18, the average age at risk is 11 years. Twenty-three percent of Hawaii’s sex trafficking victims were under the age of 18.’

The research found that initial experiences of victims of sex trafficking in Hawaii ranged in age from 4 years old to 50 years old. Women/girls constitute the largest contingent of sex trafficking, accounting for 75% of sex trafficking victims. Men/boys make up 23%, and individuals who identify as non-binary or transgender account for 2%.

Sen. Hirono said, “Last year, we made significant progress by passing our bill to enable Native Hawaiian organizations to use funds from the Women Against Violence Act to support Natives facing gender-based violence Can go.”

Callie Grant’s story is similar to that of many Native Hawaiian women who are forced into sexual slavery against their will. Here he was smuggled to his ancestral home in Hawaii. He was held against his will for two years before he was able to escape his trafficking.

Once she recovered from this experience, she became an advocate for all those who have no voice. She currently works with the Attorney General’s Department at the Missing Child Center of Hawaii.

Grant received the National Child Protection Award from the US Department of Justice in recognition of his efforts in Operation Shine the Light, a cooperative effort between the Missing Child Center-Hawaii; federal, state and local law enforcement agencies; and four non-profit organizations.

Sen. Hirono concluded, “I look forward to working with the Biden administration, my colleagues in Congress, and advocates like Kelly to build on this success and advance justice for Native Hawaiian women and girls.”