Ho‘ola Na Pua event provides insight into human trafficking

Bryan Munoz twisted and twirled upside-down on the pavement at Bishop Square, using break dance to attract attention to an issue that is normally hidden.

Munoz, a radio announcer for KNDI, joined a broad coalition of volunteers, advocates and service providers who gathered downtown Wednesday to mark National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. For him, the subject is personal.

“A cousin of mine was a victim of sex trafficking,” he said, sweat beading on his brow after the performance. “I’ve seen the devastation. She was in her early 20s. She had a boyfriend, and he took her to Vegas, promised her a music career and celebrity. She went, not knowing her boyfriend was a pimp.”

Eventually she escaped, he said, by breaking out of a closet where she had been locked up.

Wednesday’s event was organized by Ho‘ola Na Pua, a nonprofit that works to prevent exploitation and help sex-trafficked girls recover. The fair featured speakers and information tables staffed by nonprofit organizations, including Child & Family Service, Bobby Benson Center and Islands of Hope Dream Center.

The goal was to publicize available services and help educate people on red flags that might indicate sexual exploitation. After the presentations, volunteers set off on a 1-mile walk toting hand-painted signs with messages such as “End Child Exploitation.”

Warning signs of possible sexual exploitation can include repeated runaway attempts, signs of physical or substance abuse, inappropriate dress, unexplained absences from school, fatigue, showing off expensive clothes or accessories, controlling or older boyfriends, and new tattoos used to “brand” a victim.

In Hawaii, close to 4,000 runaway reports are made each year. The National Runaway Safeline estimates that a third of runaway adolescents are approached for sexual services within 48 hours of leaving home. A similar percentage of runaways report that they were sexually abused before leaving home.

Efforts to fight the problem of sex trafficking locally have been gaining traction. In July, the governor signed a bill making sex trafficking a violent crime and class A felony. The law also expanded the witness protection program to include sex trafficking.

Plans by Ho‘ola Na Pua to open a residential treatment facility for trafficked adolescent females took a big step forward this week thanks to two of the state’s biggest architecture firms. The nonprofit had sought bids to complete design of the facility, oversee permitting and take it to construction.

AHL (formerly Architects Hawaii Ltd.) and Design Partners Inc. offered to team up and handle the job for free. KAI Hawaii Inc. and InSynergy Engineering also agreed to donate their services to the project.

“And they are going to make sure that all the subcontractors are pro bono as well,” said Jody Allione, vice president of operations for Ho‘ola Na Pua. “It’s amazing. It’s roughly $800,000 in fees — all the bids came in at that price range.”

Ho‘ola Na Pua is tackling the problem from various angles. It runs a mentoring program, known as Starfish, for girls 11 to 21 who are at high risk or have been trafficked. It brings prevention programs into the schools, and reached more than 6,000 students in the past three years with advice on how to avoid exploitative situations. It also works to educate the broader community on the subject.

“It’s not one of those things that is going to change overnight,” said Jessica Munoz, founder and president of Ho‘ola Na Pua, who has been working on this issue for years. “It’s that slow continuous process of just chipping away and shedding the light. And this is a dark issue. It’s not one that most people want to talk about.”

“Our mission is to support the renewal of sex trafficked girls through health, education, advocacy and reintegration,” added Munoz, who is not related to Bryan. “A long-term, safe residential campus is vital to the effort, and we cannot thank AHL and this team enough for their generosity.”

Hawaii’s role as a tourism crossroads and its large military population are factors that can be associated with a higher prevalence of sex trafficking. Pam Yagi, a leader of the Women in Lodging & Tourism Advisory Council, said hotels are working with law enforcement and training their own employees to recognize and take action.

“Although our work is tourism-related, we recognize that this work is everyone’s business,” she told the group at the fair.

Sue Ann Sullivan, a longtime volunteer with Ho‘ola Na Pua who has nine granddaughters, agrees that the problem cuts across society.

“People think, ‘it’s not in my backyard, it’s someone else’s problem,’” she said. “With the internet and chat rooms, it’s a lure for the young girls. The kids are looking to feel loved but they are looking for it in the wrong places.”

“One of my granddaughters got involved in a chat room inappropriately,” she said. “Her mom found out. Parents need to be proactively involved to oversee their internet and phone use, not to be invasive but to protect them.”