4. The Hawaiian context differs in
crucial ways from the mainland, and
more urbanized Oahu defines and
addresses trafficking issues
differently from the rural
neighboring islands.
5. • The rural Hawaiian
islands have rarely seen
high-profile trafficking
cases, but that might be
as much because of a
failure to properly
identify abuses or a
paucity of resources to
fight them
7. • "They don't fear law
enforcement. They fear their
traffickers, who have sometimes
controlled them for years,"
Kathryn Xian says.
• As a result, victims typically
drop their cases.
8. • Hawaii's record in dealing with the
issue is erratic, activists say.
Shared Hope International
improved the state's rating in an
annual report from the lowest
possible grade of an F in 2013 to a
D last year.
10. • "In the vernacular of human
trafficking, Hawaii is a source,
destination and transit location,"
says Nicholas Sensley, a retired
California police chief and a global
expert on sex trafficking.
11. • Escape is near
impossible, Kathryn Xian
says. The girls can end up
in prison or with criminal
records, the public is
largely in denial about
the problem, and the
victims do not get the
therapy they need to
move on and heal, she
adds.
