Editorial: Bills to help our keiki

Some of the most grave dangers facing many of Hawaii’s young children are kept hidden: substance abuse and violence at the hands of adults.

In particular, sexual violence and sex trafficking destroy the lives of children who too often are powerless to resist or make their plight known.

These are among the targets of the Legislature’s Keiki Caucus, made up of state lawmakers, community leaders and youth-centered organizations, for this year’s legislative session. The effort deserves full consideration; protecting society’s most vulnerable from predation should be a public policy priority.

Two bills proposed by the caucus attempt to strengthen the early-warning system where children can be helped: at school. Children and teachers alike would be educated to recognize the threats and act against them.

House Bill 548 would establish the Erin’s Law Task Force, which would recommend a program to educate all public school children, from pre-K to grade 12, on child sexual violence prevention through age-appropriate criteria. Erin refers to Erin Merryn, a child sexual abuse survivor who has spearheaded a national drive to put this kind of education in public schools.

HB 550 would require the state Department of Education to offer training to teachers, education officers and school-based behavior health specialists on sex trafficking prevention and response, including ways to identify potential victims and get them help.

Of particular concern are the dangers faced by Native Hawaiian girls, who are disproportionately represented among sex trafficking victims, according to “Holoi a nalo Wahine ‘Oiwi,” a recently released report from the Missing and Murdered Native Hawaiian Task Force. The report found that 43% of sex trafficking cases involved Native Hawaiian girls trafficked in Waikiki, and that 38% of arrests for soliciting sex from 13-year-olds have been of active-duty military personnel.

Another key target is a familiar one: electronic cigarettes. HB 551 would prohibit the sale of flavored tobacco products and the mislabeling of e-liquids as nicotine free. It’s common knowledge that flavored vaping products are popular among children, and that the liquids they use can contain high levels of addictive nicotine, among other poorly understood or regulated chemical compounds enhanced with candy or menthol flavoring.

A similar bill last year was vetoed by Gov. David Ige, who cited exceptions to the ban in an amendment that “essentially renders the bill ineffective.”

Other bills proposed by the Keiki Caucus would strengthen child care and preschools. HB 547 aims for a minimum $16 per hour wage for child care workers through subsidies; HB 549 would require the School Facilities Authority to expand early learning spaces in public schools.