HONOLULU, July 5, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Before June 28th, it was legal under Hawaii State law to use children under age 18 for compensated stripping and nude massage. The paying customers, businesses and pimps that were profiting or gaining from using minors for these commercial sex services had nothing to worry about. Now they face up to ten years in jail, revocation of business licenses and asset forfeiture under a new law.
On June 28, 2002, Governor Ben Cayetano signed Senate Bill 2234 into Hawaii State law. "Act 240 prohibits the commercial sexual exploitation of minors in activities consisting of exotic or nude dancing, erotic or nude massage services, and pornographic performances." This is a class B Felony sending convicted perpetrators to jail for up to ten years. Under this new law, sex industry businesses are required to maintain age verification records of sexual performers. Failure to produce these records is now a class C felony -- up to five years in jail.
Sisters Offering Support and Hawaii Family Forum, the major proponents of this bill, thank the community for their success in passing this bill. Kelly Hill, Founder of Sisters Offering Support, says, "many community agencies and individuals were involved in lobbying this bill -- emailing, calling and visiting the legislators, sending in testimony ... people were shocked, when we told them that it was not only legal to use kids for stripping and nude massage, but to profit from their abuse. Everybody wanted to help protect children and to send an unequivocal message to perpetrators that this will not be tolerated any more."
Kelly M. Rosati, JD, Executive Director of Hawaii Family Forum, a non-profit education organization that worked for two years with Sisters Offering Support to advance this legislation, is thrilled about the new law, giving "police and prosecutors additional tools to hold accountable those who commercially sexually exploit Hawaii's minors."
Senator Matsuura and Senator Jonathon Chun were instrumental in passage of this bill and will be receiving awards in August for their efforts at Sisters Offering Support's sixth annual "An Evening With The Angels" benefit.
Commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) in our nation and community is the least recognized form of child abuse, and the most extreme form of domestic violence. There are an estimated 10,000 minors involved in the sex trade on Oahu with 1 in 5 youth reporting someone has tried to recruit them to provide sexual services in exchange for something of value.