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Jun 75 min read

Military Violence Against Pasifika Women and Girls

CW: sexual violence 


Håfa adai,


Where there is more military, there is more human trafficking and gendered violence. Demilitarizing our homes across Oceania is crucial to protecting our peoples. 


Human trafficking, including sex and labor trafficking, and violence against women, girls, and 2-spirit relatives are pervasive problems in the U.S. military, affecting Indigenous and local populations as well as our relatives in the service. Instances of human trafficking often increase in places with a high U.S. military presence, matching the demand placed by soldiers stationed there. In 2021, DOD reported 108 human trafficking in persons cases, including 77 sex trafficking incidents. Nearly 1 in 4 service women report being sexually assaulted in the military. LGBTQ+ servicemembers are disproportionately sexually assaulted in the military. According to a FY23 DOD report, 91 victims of sexual assault identified as American Indian and 339 as Asian/Pacific Islander. 


In our latest Instagram post, we highlight how DOD and its current expansion in the Indo-Pacific Region threatens to exacerbate violence against women and the MMIWG2S crisis in the Pacific. The military often interferes and requests jurisdiction over cases where military personnel are accused of misconduct. Subsequent administrative and military court proceedings are not subject to the same public access requirements as civilian legal proceedings. This limits accountability and visibility of these pervasive harms.


We share four case studies: Hawai‘i, Okinawa, Guåhan, and Korea. In all these places, DOD personnel have contributed to human trafficking and increasing sexual violence against women and girls. Below are some excerpts from our recent post.


  • Hawai‘i: survivors of sex trafficking have said they were forcibly prostituted the most during military paydays. 38% of those arrested for soliciting sex from a thirteen-year-old online through Operation Keiki Shield are active-duty military personnel.

  • Okinawa: U.S. soldiers have murdered, r*ped, or otherwise sexually assaulted hundreds of women and girls. Long-standing protests exploded in 1995 (following the beating and gang-r*pe of a 12-year-old girl) and 2016 (following the r*pe and murder of a 20-year-old woman). Now, the vast majority of locals are calling for the reduction of U.S. military presence in Okinawa; 26% of the population is calling for complete removal. 

  • Guåhan: the island is bracing for the thousands of incoming U.S. marine the U.S. and Japan have agreed to move out of Okinawa. The local population experiences massive spikes in sexual assault and human trafficking when U.S. submarines and naval ships come to our shore. 

  • Korea: the South Korean and U.S. government conspired to force Korean women into sexual slavery for the benefit of U.S. soldiers. U.S. soldiers have also trafficked Korean women to the U.S. and forced them into sexual slavery. 


What you can do: 


Too few resources are allocated to combatting and documenting human trafficking and the MMIWG2S crisis in the Pacific. Traffickers use our islands for hunting grounds, transit, and destinations. In some instances, victims are taken thousands of miles away from their homelands to various U.S. states. These acts cannot be divorced from U.S. imperialism, environmental degradation, and the pervasive misogynistic culture of the U.S. military and country. 


Stay tuned for our next post on RIMPAC: The Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC)--the world’s largest international maritime war games exercise–will take place in Hawai‘i again this summer. Not only does RIMPAC’s influx of military personnel lead to a regular increase in sex trafficking and gendered violence in the islands but routinely destroys sacred lands, waters, marine life, and cultural resources. Israel, whose military has received training during RIMPAC and used it to commit genocide against Palestinians, and Indonesia, whose military has been committing genocide in West Papua, will be two of the 29 nations returning this year. 


We must decolonize and demilitarize the Pacific. 


In Solidarity,

Kyra Blas

WPLC Legal Fellow

Join us for an in-person and virtual critical discussion on the intersection of militarization, Indigenous rights, environmental justice, and feminism. This event will bring together community leaders, activists, and scholars to bring awareness to the threat of militarization on the health and safety of Native Hawaiian women, children, and mahū and draw parallels with the occupation of Palestine. We aim to help build a community safety network and foster connections between two sites of militarization and occupation: Hawai'i and Palestine. Register: bit.ly/demiloceania


Speakers:

  • Opening Oli: Alakaʻi Kapanui, Hui Aloha ʿĀina o Hilo, Kona 4 Palestine, & Huliau o Na Wahi Kapu

  • Makanalani Gomes, Kamawaelualani & MMNHWG Report

  • Ihilani Lasconia, Af3irm Hawai'i

  • Natali Segovia, Esq., Water Protector Legal Collective

  • Laulani Teale, Ho'opae Pono Peace Project

  • Healani Sonoda-Pale, Ka Lāhui Hawai'i & O’ahu Water Protectors


This event will be recorded.

In-person participation: Halau 'Inana


Rim of the Pacific (June 26-August 2, 2024) exercises are so-called “war games” that are hosted biannually in the Hawaiian Islands and occupied Kumeyaay and Diegueno lands (San Diego). It is an international event in which the United States, Israel, Peru, and 26 other countries participate. The U.S. Navy says “they provide an opportunity to develop cooperative relationships that are important for the security of the world's oceans.” During RIMPAC 2024, it is estimated that over 25,000 foreign active duty military personnel will occupy Hawaiian lands, waters, and air space in the name of “security.”

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