KAILUA-KONA — A recent arrest on a federal child trafficking charge shows that the Big Island isn’t immune to the crime, advocates say, and residents can learn to help stop it.
KAILUA-KONA — A recent arrest on a federal child trafficking charge shows that the Big Island isn’t immune to the crime, advocates say, and residents can learn to help stop it.
Hoolanapua, or New Life For Our Children, a group that seeks to end the prostitution of children, is holding a free training seminar Friday and Saturday.
“It’s a human issue, so, if you are human, you should come,” said Jessica Munoz, the group president.
She founded the group in 2009 to bring awareness of the crime to the people of the islands, she said.
Dawn Johansen, a volunteer for the group, said many people claim that child sex trafficking doesn’t happen in Hawaii. That illusion was shattered, she said, by the recent federal charges against Michael Patrakis, 43, of Kailua-Kona, who is charged with serving as a pimp for a 15-year-old girl.
“It is an ugly subject,” added Kaleo Schneider, one of the trainers who has worked for four years to educate teachers, parents and others on how to recognize the signs of sex trafficking and how to respond.
It’s a subject that most people don’t want to consider, she pointed out.
“This is a 21st century danger for teens. This is what our teenagers will have to face,” she said.
The average age a child enters sex trafficking is 13 years old, according to the advocacy group Shared Hope. Hoolanapua has trained school staff and law enforcement for the signs of trafficking and wants to spread that knowledge to the general public. One major part will be understanding how to recognize risk signs.
Learning about the signs can be reassuring, Schneider added, as people now know what to look for and how to help. It also allows them to focus their attention on actual risks, rather than the outdated idea of a stranger in a van with candy.
It’s more than a classical vision of prostitution, she said, as it can include exchanges like sex for food and shelter. They are manipulated and abused to view the situation they are in as normal. In fact, the abuse can be so effective that the child thinks the situation is normal, she said.
At the event she will cover the abuse from the perspective of the child.
There will also be a talk by Tammy Bitanga, who is a survivor-advocate with the group. She will discuss her time as a victim of sex trafficking. The experts will also talk with attendees and answer questions.
The group started on Oahu and has expanded its efforts across the state.
“This issue is an issue on every single island,” said Munoz.
They are trying to extend their reach and improve awareness statewide, she said.
The group is also announcing the land lease that will allow them to build a 32-bed treatment center for victims of sex trafficking on Oahu. It will be the first facility of its type in the islands.
The event will be held at the University of Nations in Kailua-Kona on Friday and Saturday. The Friday session will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m. and the Saturday event will be from 8:30 a.m. to noon.
“In order to stop or combat it in our various communities, we need to have people who stand up and say no more,” Munoz said.