Sexual violence has no place on college campuses. Yet as students, many of us must navigate this danger as a part of our daily reality.

The 2021 University of Hawai’i (UH) Campus Climate Survey reported that one in six female and one in three transgender or non-binary undergraduate students are experiencing sexual harassment while enrolled at UH.

Students with disabilities were at least two times more likely to experience sexual harassment than their peers.

The survey also shows that many students are not receiving adequate support, with approximately five out of six students who experienced gender violence at UH not accessing school resources.

Our student and survivor-led group, Every Voice Hawai’i, addresses campus sexual violence through state policy. As students at UH, we are urging Gov. Josh Green to sign Campus Safety Bill HB554 into law to keep Hawai’i college students safe and improve equal access to education.

HB554: Relating to Campus Safety improves survivor resources while increasing sexual violence prevention and awareness education for students and employees.

Importantly, the bill also provides reporting parties with amnesty around violations of school drug or alcohol policy that occurred at the time of the incident, making student safety the priority in these situations.

Students across the UH system are hopeful for positive change from these commonsense measures and are looking to Gov. Green to sign HB554 into law before the fall semester begins.

Anna Nalani Ezzy

Haiku