In September 2022, the peaceful island of Hawaii was shaken to it’s core as an MAILE AMBER alert was activated statewide and notifications received via text. A 15 year old girl was kidnapped and missing. The community sprung into action, search parties were organized, the island was on the lookout. The next day the 15 year old teen was spotted with her kidnapper and bystanders quickly stepped in to rescue her. The relief and joy was felt throughout the community! This child was reunited with her family, and all was right in the world. Or was it?
Hundreds of children go missing in Hawaii, yet we have never received MAILE AMBER alerts for them. Why is this? In order for the MAILE AMBER alert to be issued, there is a very specific and strict criteria that needs to be met. The child needs to be under the age of 17, there needs to be a clear indication that the child was abducted, and that the child is in immanent harm. The 15 year old teen clearly met this criteria, but what about other children? The ones labeled “runaways” or just the ones who simply disappeared? Where are these children?
Is Human trafficking really happening?
The Missing and Murdered Native Hawaiian Women, Girls and Mahu Taskforce was created in 2021 to address the alarming rate of missing Native Hawaiian Women, Girls and Mahu. The Taskforce is led by principle investigator Dr. Nikki Cristobal and part 1 of the data report was released in 2023. Some of the key take aways from the data report are more the ¼ of the missing children in Hawaii are Native Hawaiian Girls, Active Duty Military Personal were the highest perpetrators of sex solicitations from Native Hawaiian Girls and Hawaii has the 8th highest missing person rate per-capita. (Cristobal, 2022)
In Hawaii county, there were 182 cases of missing Kanaka Maoli girls from the year 2018-2021 that was reported to Hawaii Police Department. This is higher than any other nationality. The MMNHWGM movement seeks to collect data to inform and create policy that adds protective factors over Native Hawaiian Women, Girls and Mahu. In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness month, I attended a webinar called “Domestic Violence, Exploitation and the MMNHWGM Movement” which was hosted by Dr. Nikki Cristobal the Executive Director of Kamawaelualani and Victoria Roland, who is the Statewide Program Administrator for the Trafficking Victim Assistance Program. They discussed the severity of sex trafficking in the state of Hawaii and how the layers of colonization and racism and lack of representation has effected the data collecting and recovery efforts.
While part 2 of the MMNHWGM data report has not been released, we can still stand in solidarity with victims and survivors of trafficking and violence. We can raise awareness and educate those around us of this invisible crisis. We can keep up to date about the missing children in our community. We can keep our eyes open, see something, say something. Lahui, we will not stop until our Kanaka oiwi are returned home. #NOMORESTOLENSISTERS.
Works Cited
Cristobal, N. (2022). Holoi a nalo Wahine Oiwi: Missing and Murdered Native Hawaiian Women and Girls Task Force Report (Part 1). Honolulu, Hawaii: Office of Hawiian Affairs; Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women.
https://www.oha.org/wp-content/uploads/MMNHWG-Report-Web.pdf
Missing children in Hawaii
