Action Alert!
February 9th 2010 - ALL DAY
Big City Diner's Oahu Island-Wide Fundraiser for P.A.S.S.
Send the message to
PASS THE STATE ANTI HUMAN TRAFFICKING BILL
HB1940 and its companion SB2045!
Your voice DOES count!SB2045 - Bill Deferred for 2 Weeks Pending
Committee Re-write - Hearing TBA
Call/Write and Urge Passage of a Human Trafficking Bill
See pics of P.A.S.S at the MLK March (Honolulu), January 18th 2010
(Photos by Rita Coury, copyright 2010)
About the Pacific Alliance to Stop Slavery (P.A.S.S.)
Formed in January 2009, the Pacific Alliance to Stop Slavery (P.A.S.S.), a Hawaii-based not-for-profit 501(c)3 public charity, is a coalition of both secular and faith-based groups based in Hawaii who share the common mission to educate the public about the growing problem of human trafficking, provide aftercare and support to victims, outreach to unidentified or unrecognized victims, advocate for the passage of local state legislation to make human trafficking a felony offense (especially laws that focus on prosecuting pimps and "johns") and to ensure the enforcement of such legislation.
Our members individually hold positions in public interest legal services, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), churches, non-profit community organizations, state and federally funded anti-trafficking task forces, domestic violence shelters, educational institutions, and law enforcement.
According to the U.S. Department of State, 300,000 U.S. children are forced or manipulated into the sex-trafficking trade. 1.2 million children worldwide are trafficked. According to the Honolulu Police Department, in 2008, Honolulu (not statewide) saw 15 children as High Risk Victims for Human Trafficking PER MONTH (or one child every other day).
P.A.S.S. is a firmly abolitionist alliance committed to ending human trafficking, the modern-day form of slavery, and is primarily concerned with helping the survivors of sex-trafficking while advocating for the strict prosecution of pimps and "johns."
P.A.S.S. believes that the current state penalties do not fit the crime of sex-trafficking and must be raised significantly to be just. P.A.S.S. firmly believes that appropriate anti-trafficking legislation would carry the highest state penalty for pimps/traffickers of 20 years in prison with no parole and a $25,000 fine (Class A Felony) as mirrored by Federal Law (18 U.S.C. Section 2422(a)) maximum penalty up to 20 years for pimps/traffickers; (18 U.S.C. Section 1591), for trafficking minors under 14, or with force, minimum 15 years to life term; for trafficking minors between the ages of 14 to 18 years of age: 10 years to life term.
Local City Council & Neighborhood Board Support
The Honolulu City Council unanimously passed City Resolution 09-284 recognizing the growing problem of Human Trafficking in Hawaii and urging the Hawaii State Legislature to pass a state law making the crime a felony offense.
The following Oahu Neighborhood Boards have unanimously passed resolutions urging legislators to pass an anti-Human Trafficking state law making the crime a felony offense while protecting victims (more to follow):
- Ala Moana/Kakaako
- Aiea
- Downtown
- Hawaii Kai
- Kahaluu
- Kailua
- Kaimuki
- Kaneohe
- Kuliouou
- Palolo
- Waikiki
- Waimanalo
- Waipahu
To download the template neighborhood board resolution CLICK HERE
The State of Girls and Women & Call to Action - by U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton
Excerpt from "Very Young Girls" www.gems-girls.org
YOU CAN HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
-read more about legislation in Hawaii-
Combatting Sex-Trafficking in Hawaii
Hawaii is driven by a tourist-based economy which attracts sex-traffickers looking to establish territory to capitalize on the market of male travelers and transient military personnel. The fight against the growing problem of sex-trafficking in Hawaii is an important battle for many reasons. Currently, there is no local legislation defining "trafficking;" a fact most traffickers are aware of. Though hardworking as they are, local law enforcement lacks the legal foundation to prosecute a pimp with a penalty that fits the horrendous crimes of human trafficking.
Unfortunately, with regard to the growing number of traffickers and trafficking activity worldwide, the federal government lacks the manpower to regulate every state in the nation, and on average, it takes from one to two years for a full federal investigation of a trafficker. During that time, countless abuses can take place at the physical, mental, and spiritual detriment of the many prostituted persons coming into and out of Hawaii. If local Human Trafficking legislation were passed, this would give local law enforcement a substantial opportunity to greatly effect the arrest rates and prosecutions of traffickers and help stop the global rise of Human Trafficking on the local level.
Currently, Human Trafficking is the 2nd highest lucrative criminal activity in the world, surpassing illegal arms dealing and second only to international drug trafficking.
In the state of Hawaii, many pimps, if they are caught at all, are usually prosecuted for promoting prostitution which has a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and up to a $25,000 fine and a minimum of a prison term not to exceed 1 year and up to a $2,000 fine.
Hawaii is one of seven remaining states in America that has not passed a Human Trafficking State Law or laws effectively addressing Human Trafficking as a felony offense while protecting the victims. Simply relying on current state laws to address human trafficking is highly problematic. The states listed without human trafficking laws are: Alabama, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Ohio, Wyoming, West Virginia, South Dakota.
Some of the problems of using current statutes include:
1) Prostitution statutes place both victim and patron in the same criminal category making it virtually impossible for HPD to recognize prostitutes as victims. These are hardly victim centered laws,
2) Promoting prostitution statutes are NOT exempt from *deferred acceptance laws, which means that if a trafficker pleads guilty, in the state of Hawaii, he can legally say that he has never been convicted of that crime. Furthermore, his sentence would be minimal e.g. 30 months in jail and 3-5 years supervised release. *See Rodney D. King case for past example.
3) Most times, only promoting prostitution in the 3rd degree is applied to pimps/traffickers (misdemeanor), and,
4) These laws are not preventative so authorities need to "wait" until something severe like sex assault, murder, extortion, or kidnapping occur to pin the trafficker with anything worthwhile, of course to the detriment of the victim trafficked.
Hawaii's Current Promoting Prostitution Laws
- Prostituting a child under the age of 18 (or anyone who compels an adult through criminal coercion into prostitution or profits from that coercion by another) is defined as Promoting Prostitution in the 1st Degree, a Class B Felony, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years** in prison and up to a $25,000 fine*. (Until June 2008, when SB 2212 was signed into law as Act 147, raising minors' age to under 18, the maximum age defining a minor in order to prosecute a pimp/trafficker for Promoting Prostitution in the 1st Degree was 15 and under).
- Prostituting a child under the age of 18 (or anyone who profits from prostitution by managing, supervising, controlling, or owning, either alone or in association with others, a house of prostitution or a prostitution business or enterprise involving prostitution) is defined as Promoting Prostitution in the 2nd Degree, a Class C Felony, which carries a penalty of up to 5 years** in prison and a $10,000 fine*.
- Anyone who knowingly advances or profits from prostitution is Promoting Prostitution in the 3rd Degree, a Misdemeanor which carries a prison term of not more than 1 year** and up to a $2,000 fine*.
- The current penalty for "Johns" or clients who solicit sex from a prostituted person is a Petty Misdemeanor which carries a prison term of not more than 30 days or probation and a mandatory $500 fine.
* Courts usually make the determinations of fines imposed.
** Minimum length of imprisonment is determined by the Hawaii Paroling Authority.
Hawaii Revised Statutes - Terms of Imprisonment HRS 706—659 (Class A Felony)
Hawaii Revised Statutes - Terms of Imprisonment HRS 706—660 (Class B & C Felonies)
Hawaii Revised Statutes - Terms of Imprisonment HRS 706—663 (Misdemeanor & Petty Misdemeanor)
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the link between Sex-Trafficking and Prostitution?
- What are the differences between Legalizing/Regulating Prostitution, Decriminalizing Prostitution, and the Abolition of Prostitution?
- Does the legalization/regulation of prostitution really work to reduce crime and abuse?
- What is the definition of human trafficking?
- What should local legislation focus on?