Senator Mazie Hirono to bring Native Hawaiian trafficking survivor as guest to State of the Union

By Web staff

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    HONOLULU (KITV) — Democratic Senator Mazie K. Hirono has invited Kalei Grant, a Native Hawaiian trafficking survivor, to President Biden’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday.

Grant is an advocate and leader for other survivors of sex trafficking and other forms of gender-based violence. In January, Kalei participated in a roundtable discussion, convened by Senator Hirono, with Native Hawaiian survivors of gender-based violence and organizations that support them.

Senator Hirono recently passed a bill to allow Native Hawaiian survivors of gender-based violence to access critical programs and resources provided by Congress through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

“As a Native Hawaiian survivor of gender-based violence, Kalei Grant is working to help combat the crisis of violence against Native women and girls,” said Senator Hirono. “I admire and appreciate her commitment to raising awareness and supporting other survivors, and I’m honored to have her as my guest for President Biden’s State of the Union Address. Last year, we made important progress by passing my bill to finally enable Native Hawaiian organizations to use funds from the Violence Against Women Act to support Native Hawaiian survivors of gender-based violence. I look forward to working with the Biden Administration, my colleagues in Congress, and advocates like Kalei to build on this success and advance justice for Native Hawaiian women and girls.”

Kalei Grant is a survivor of domestic sex trafficking. She was trafficked in Hawaii, where she was born and raised. After nearly two years of being held against her will, she escaped from her trafficker.

She now helps others trapped in commercial sexual exploitation.

Grant now works for the Department of the Attorney General in Hawaii’s Missing Child Center. In 2021, she received the National Child Protection Award from the U.S. Department of Justice in recognition of her efforts in Operation Shine the Light, a cooperative effort between Missing Child Center-Hawaii; federal, state and local law enforcement agencies; and four nonprofit organizations.

Last August, Sen. Hirono pressed FBI Director Christopher Wray to do more to protect the Native Hawaiian community from sexual exploitation at a full Judiciary Committee hearing and emphasized the need for the FBI to include the Native Hawaiian community in its efforts to address the missing and murdered Indigenous people crisis and violence against Native communities. Senator Hirono also joined a resolution designating May 5th as National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

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