Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Domestic Violence topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee hears call for broader study of domestic violence laws, survivors urge funding and island-wide participation
Summary
The House Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs heard testimony supporting HCR55/HR51, which would ask the judiciary to study how well laws on domestic violence, temporary restraining orders and stalking prevent continuing abuse. Survivors' advocates urged wider geographic scope, survivor participation and dedicated funding.
The House Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs on April 1 heard testimony on HCR55/HR51, resolutions requesting the judiciary to study whether existing state laws on domestic violence, temporary restraining orders and harassment by stalking are effective at preventing continued abuse and harassment.
Advocates told the committee that any study should include data from across the Hawaiian Islands, meaningful survivor participation and resources to carry out the work. Angie Mercado, executive director of the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, told the committee that past reviews have focused overwhelmingly on Honolulu and lacked sustained, funded follow‑up. Mercado said survivorship voices were often absent from prior analyses and said a statewide approach that includes neighbor islands, county prosecutors and law enforcement is needed. “If we are going to do this, we should pick up on where we already left off, take the data that we already have, include our neighbor islands, include law enforcement and prosecutors of every single county and have a meaningful representation of survivors,” Mercado said.
Daniel Hugo of the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office told the committee the office offered comment and agreed the judiciary has data that could inform the study but cautioned the scope of some requests could overstep the judicial branch. Hugo said the prosecutor’s office separated its submission into noncriminal and criminal contexts and noted the judiciary holds useful case‑level information in some areas.
Mercado and other advocates urged lawmakers to fund personnel and timeline extensions to avoid repeating past studies that did not produce change. Mercado said an unfunded resolution would produce “more of the same three years from now.”
The committee received written support from the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women and other groups. The resolutions do not specify a detailed timetable in the text the committee heard; witnesses asked for a process that includes survivor representation and funding commitments.
Action: HCR55/HR51 — resolution to request the judiciary conduct study on domestic violence laws and related orders; committee action: passed out of committee (approved).
