LIHU‘E — Tuesday was designated by the United Nations as World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.
In Hawai‘i, Ho‘ola Na Pua, translated to mean new life for our children, waged a statewide sign waving campaign to raise awareness about human trafficking.
On Kaua‘i, the sign waving campaign was joined by Kaua‘i’s First Lady Monica Kawakami and her daughter Hailey, as well as the Kaua‘i Committee on the Status of Women, which included Hawai‘i State Commissioner on the Committee on the Status of Women, Edie Ignacio Neumiller, members of the Zonta Club of Kaua‘i, where Neumiller is the president, as well as local residents, including children.
The United Nations, on its website, states that globally, one in three victims of human trafficking is a child, and the majority of the trafficked children are girls.
Children are subjected to various forms of trafficking, including forced labor, crime, begging, illegal adoption, sexual abuse and the online dissemination of abusive images, and some children are also recruited into armed groups.
Kawakami, as head of the Kaua‘i Committee on the Status of Women, unveiled new signage on July 23, that provides useful numbers trafficking victims can call for help. This information will be printed in different languages.
Supported by a number of agencies, including the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, Kaua‘i Police Department, YWCA of Kaua‘i, the signs will be posted in county parks, thanks to the Department of Parks and Recreation.
The United Nations said the reasons for child trafficking are many with the most prominent being poverty, insufficient support for unaccompanied minors in the face of increasing migration and refugee flows, armed conflicts, dysfunctional families and lack of parental care.
Ho‘ola Na Pua, through information on its website, served more than 15,000 youths and community members through direct service programming in 2023.
If you are a victim of human trafficking, call 1-888-373-7888 or 808-245-6362. People may also text HELP to 233733.
