STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3536

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.C.R. No. 81

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 81 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE HAWAII STATE COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, TO ESTABLISH A WORKING GROUP AND PROVIDE A REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE ON WAYS TO STRENGTHEN PROTECTIONS FOR SURVIVORS OF IMAGE-BASED SEXUAL ABUSE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, in collaboration with the Department of the Attorney General, to establish a working group comprised of gender-based violence service providers and survivors of gender-based violence to conduct a review of statutes and policies nationwide to evaluate possibilities for policy or program enhancements to protect survivors of image-based sexual abuse that can be adapted from other states and incorporated into Hawaiʻi law.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, Imua Alliance, Hawaii State Chapter of Children's Justice Centers, Hawaiʻi Women Lawyers, and two individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General.

Your Committee finds that image-based sexual abuse, including the nonconsensual distribution of intimate images and artificial intelligence (AI)-generated deepfake sexual imagery, is a growing form of exploitation that causes severe and long-lasting harm to victims. For example, a 2020 study in the Journal of the American Medial Association found that approximately one in five adults in the United States reported having a nude image shared without their consent, and among those, the majority experienced significant psychological distress. AI has further accelerated these harms, with AI tools now able to generate realistic deepfake images and photos, automate harassment campaigns, impersonate individuals, and create synthetic intimate images without a person ever taking or sharing a photo. Your Committee further finds that women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and young people are disproportionately targeted for online sexual exploitation and image-based abuse. This measure recognizes that these issues are evolving faster than traditional laws can keep up and will allow the State to respond to these emerging harms before they become even more widespread and difficult to address.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Requesting the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women to collaborate with the Office of the Legislative Reference Bureau, in addition to the Department of the Attorney General, to establish the working group and provide a report to the Legislature on ways to strengthen protections for survivors of image-based sexual abuse;

(2) Requesting the report to the Legislature be submitted no later than forty days prior to the Regular Session of 2028, rather than twenty days prior to the Regular Session of 2027;

(3) Amending its title accordingly; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 81, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 81, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

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KARL RHOADS, Chair