By Anonymous
On October 1, 2025, the first day of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a community-organized rally in Honolulu took place, which intended to increase public consciousness surrounding the issue. Advocates emphasized that domestic violence is a critical crisis that has been on the rise since the Covid-19 pandemic, and that it “can happen to anyone regardless of age, gender, race, culture, or income … it affects every neighborhood in Hawaii” (HNN Staff, 2025). Especially for misunderstood issues like domestic violence, broadening awareness is imperative to help victims access the resources they need and to help loved ones identify the warning signs of abuse.
I have personally experienced intimate partner violence and can attest to how scared, confused, and alone it makes a victim feel. Given that it was my first relationship, that the abuse was more often psychological and stalking (although occasionally physical), and that I was being cut off from my support systems by the partner, I found it incredibly hard to come to terms with the idea that I myself was experiencing domestic violence. Events like the Honolulu rally are extremely important in helping survivors grasp what they have been through, and brings key awareness to the nuance of such a sensitive issue.
Domestic violence situations are for many, (as it was for me), particularly difficult to get out of because of the level of control involved in the abuse. When a partner has asserted their precedence over all aspects of a victim’s life, getting out of that cycle can be confusing and feel impossible. Control is also a key factor in female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C); oftentimes, the abuse is taking place under the guise of normality and is perpetrated by people who have an ever-present influence on the survivors’ day-to-day lifes. Identifying lived experiences of domestic violence or FGM/C can be incredibly difficult for survivors while they are still actively under the domineering occupancy of their abusers.
The 2016-2017 survey, ‘The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey’, by the CDC, indicates that 44.7% of Hawaiian women and 24.7% of Hawaiian men report experiencing domestic violence in their lifetimes. This statistic, of course, does not encompass all those who do not report their stories (which can be for a variety of reasons, including social stigma, fear of disbelief or further victimization, and family dynamics). Producing statistical accuracy and eventual strengthening policy starts with identifying the scope of the issue, something community-based action has the power to do.
FGM/C is an understudied human rights issue that threatens many Hawaiians’ safety and well-being; a 2023 research study suggests that 304 individuals are living with the consequences of FGM/C, and 1,041 individuals are potentially at risk of FGM/C in Hawaii. Further, two prior attempts in 2019 and 2023 to pass legislation criminalizing FGM/C failed (Senate Bill 1434 and Senate Bill 131), leaving Hawaii among the 9 states without a bill. A large reason why advocates and researchers suspect that efforts to criminalize FGM/C in Hawaii haven’t passed, much like efforts to prevent domestic violence, is a lack of awareness of the issue. Many people do not understand what FGM/C is, nor recognize its prevalence in their own communities. Still, its occurrence is undeniable, and the current victims as well as survivors need more from their state in the way of physical/emotional support, as well as legal repercussions to perpetrators and complicit parties.
Like domestic violence, many people who have experienced FGM/C suffer in silence; we hope that community-based advocacy efforts, like the ones happening around the issue of domestic violence, can increase public pressure for critical legislation in Hawaii. Building coalitions for FGM/C with domestic violence advocates present is an effective way to create a foundation of strength and solidarity between these related movements. If you have information about these legislative attempts to pass bills in Hawaii on FGM/C, information on FGM/C in Hawaii, or want to learn more about Sahiyo’s policy work, please contact us at info@sahiyo.org.
