Members of the Women’s Legislative Caucus (WLC) were honored today by the Hawai‘i Says No More campaign for their commitment to ending violence in our community. The recognition was part of a proclamation ceremony in the Governor’s office, designating March 4-11, 2018 Hawai‘i Says No More Week.

Stacey Moniz thanked the women legislators on behalf of the Hawai‘i Says No More campaign, for their work against domestic violence and sexual assault.

“We appreciate your support to end the rape kit testing backlog, the countless bills aimed specifically at keeping victims safe, by providing comprehensive services for victims and perpetrators and for holding offenders accountable. The Hawai‘i Says No More core team is ever grateful for the untold hours you’ve spent supporting our communities,” said Moniz.

Senator Rosalyn Baker, a co-convener of the Women’s Legislative Caucus, said the progress that has been made so far in addressing violence in the community “is a collective effort by all of the women and some of our very wonderful male colleagues, whether in the Executive branch or Legislative branch.”

“It really is about taking up the fight to raise awareness to make sure that in our generation, our childrens’ generation, and our grandchildrens’ generation, won’t have to fight the same battles that some of us in this room have fought,” said Sen. Baker.

WLC co-convener Sen. Laura Thielen was acknowledged for her leadership in taking the caucus to the neighbor islands for “listening sessions” with the Judiciary, Attorney General’s Office, domestic violence survivors and advocates in order to make policy changes and develop system reforms addressing domestic violence and sexual assault across the state. Some of the legislation introduced this Session came from those meetings.

In proclaiming the week, Gov. David Ige acknowledged the “contributions of this unique collaboration of organizations, agencies, businesses and individuals, as well as its supporters and allies” and encouraged all Hawai‘i residents to increase their awareness and engagement to prevent and end domestic violence and sexual assault. According to Hawai‘i Says No More, one in seven women in Hawai‘i have been raped in their lifetimes. More than 500 victims seek services from domestic violence shelters in Hawai‘i every day.