DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM Kelly Hill, founder of Sisters Offering Support, reacted emotionally yesterday when she mentioned the recent slaying of a prostitute in Waikiki, during a panel about sexual exploitation of children and women.

Task force to fight
human trafficking

The coalition is a result of a 3-day
international meet on sexual exploitation

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By Diana Leone
dleone@starbulletin.com

A new Hawaii Task Force Against Human Trafficking will be formed in the wake of an international conference on the topic that concludes today.

The task force will consist of Hawaii law enforcement, social service, community and academic groups that already are dealing with some aspect of the problem, said Barry Gills, director of the Globalization Research Center at the University of Hawaii.

Washington state has a similar task force and has pledged to share what it has learned with Hawaii, Gills said.

The task force hopes to build on the work of a coalition known as Protect Our Children from Sexual Exploitation, Gills said.

Judith Clark of the Hawaii Youth Services Network said the coalition has created materials to educate the community about the dangers of sexual exploitation of children.

The new task force would also address trafficking of adults.

During the three-day "Human Rights Challenge of Globalization ... Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children" conference in the Hawai'i Convention Center, "we have been ... shocked again to learn about the extent of the human trafficking problem in the United States and the world," Gills said yesterday.

"While research and discussion is important, we want to be a catalyst for actions that will make Hawaii and the world a better place," he said. "We believe that the enforcement of current law is essential, and we want to consider whether new laws or changes to existing laws are needed to help combat human trafficking, which is the fastest-growing crime in the Asia-Pacific region, the United States and the world."

Federal prosecution of human trafficking often is done under what is called the Mann Act, said U.S. Attorney Edward Kubo. The act prohibits transporting anyone across state or international boundaries for the purpose of prostitution or illegal sexual activity.

Since 1995 the U.S. Attorney's Office in Hawaii has prosecuted and convicted 13 people under the act, beginning with pimp Lamar Baker, Kubo said. Baker was found guilty of bringing a Canadian teenager to work as a Waikiki prostitute.

Kelly Hill, founder of Sisters Offering Support, said women and girls trapped in the sex industry in Hawaii include both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals. SOS offers programs to help those who want help.

Contrary to popular belief, not all girls tricked into prostitution are from troubled homes, Clark said during a panel discussion about sex trafficking in Hawaii.

"There are some girls who think of prostitution as a way to get more money than you can get at McDonald's," she said.

About one in 10 students surveyed at local schools have told SOS workers that they have been solicited to get into the sex trade, Hill said.

Hill became emotional when she mentioned the recent murder and decapitation of a Waikiki prostitute.

"I've been out of prostitution for eight years now, and I still feel for the women and children that are out there," she said.