Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander teens face higher rates of sexual violence, new study finds

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A new study from the University of Hawaii at Manoa found that Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) adolescents face higher rates of sexual violence than their peers of other backgrounds in Hawaii, especially among girls.

UH’s Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health dean Alex Ortega and associate dean Meripa Godinet co-authored the study after reviewing surveys of nearly 13,000 Hawaii high school students.

The researchers found more than 12 percent of NHPI girls reported being forced to have sex at some point in their lives, compared to 11 percent of White girls and 8 percent of Asian girls.

According to the study, about 16 percent of NHPI girls experienced unwanted sexual contact in the year before the survey, followed by 14 percent of White gi