Report Title:

Task Force to Review Issues Relating to Age of Consent

THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

160

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

H.D. 1

   


SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING THE COALITION FOR THE PREVENTION OF SEX ASSAULT TO CONVENE A TASK FORCE TO ENGAGE IN A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE ISSUES, AND THE DIFFERING VIEWPOINTS, CONCERNING THE AGE OF CONSENT FOR CONSENSUAL SEX CONDUCT.

 

WHEREAS, issues relating to the appropriate age for consensual sex, especially as it relates to minors, is fraught with emotion and controversy; and

WHEREAS, the issues are also part of a complex entanglement of other, often subjective, issues relating to family matters, personal privacy, moral and or cultural standards, physical and emotional health, and criminal conduct; and

WHEREAS, although few would argue that the protection of the emotional and physical well-being of minors should be a primary goal, there is much disagreement and differing viewpoints concerning how best to achieve this goal; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii has the lowest "age of consent," for purposes of avoiding prosecution under statutory rape provisions, of any state in the nation; and

WHEREAS, in Hawaii, a minor age fourteen or older may legally have consensual sex, whereas most states set the age higher at between sixteen to eighteen years of age; and

WHEREAS, during this Regular Session of 2001, approximately fifteen bills were introduced proposing various changes to the age of consent; and

WHEREAS, although several of these bills have survived first crossover, the difference of opinion over how best to approach this issue remains apparent; and

WHEREAS, even the American Bar Association's Center on Children and the Law, while recommending the protection of minors through the age of fifteen from consensual sexual intercourse with adults age twenty or older, nevertheless recommends that all relevant perspectives be represented on a jurisdiction-wide task force to improve communications and understanding of the appropriate role of the criminal justice system with respect to the issue of minors engaging in consensual sexual relations; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Attorney General and the Coalition for the Prevention of Sex Assault are requested to convene a task force to engage in a comprehensive review of the issues, and the differing viewpoints, concerning the age of consent for consensual sexual conduct, particularly as it relates to minors in sexual relationships with adult partners; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force provide the Legislature with factual information, the national experience, and "best practices" for the purpose of assisting the Legislature to develop social policy on the issue of "age of consent;" and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to:

(1) Compile the relevant state statutes in Hawaii;

(2) Compile data on sentencing practices in other jurisdictions;

(3) Evaluate statutes and sentencing practices and their impact on adolescents; and

(4) Hawaii data on the incidence of adolescent sexual activity;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be composed of, but not limited to, the following:

(1) Each county chief of police, or designate;

(2) Each county prosecutor, or designate;

(3) A representative from the Judiciary;

(4) A Department of Public Safety representative;

(5) A Department of Health representative;

(6) A Sex Abuse Treatment Center representative;

(7) A Sex Assault Coalition representative;

(8) A Catholic Charities-Child Sex Abuse Treatment Program representative;

(9) A Children's Advocacy Center representative;

(10) An Office of Youth Services representative;

(11) An immigrant service provider representative;

(12) The Chair of the House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, or designate;

(13) The Chair of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, or designate;

(14) A Hawaii Family Forum representative;

(15) A Sisters Offering Support representative;

(16) A League of Women Voters representative;

(17) A Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women representative;

(18) A military community representative;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of the Attorney General, together with the Coalition for the Prevention of Sexual Assault, is requested to report the findings and recommendations of the task force to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2002; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Attorney General and the Coalition for the Prevention of Sex Assault, who, in turn, shall transmit copies to the members of the task force.