Khara Jabola-Carolus
Khara Jabola-Carolus | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Executive director |
| Organisation | Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women |
Khara Jabola-Carolus is an American advocate for women and the current executive director of the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, the only millennial to direct a statewide government agency in Hawaii.
Early life and education
Jabola-Carolus grew up in Southern California.[1] Her family is originally from Laguna, Philippines.[2] She holds a degree in international politics from New York University and earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Hawaii, citing an uncle who had previously been deported as driving her to study law.[1]
Career
In 2018, Jabola-Carolus helped the effort that codified Title IX into Hawaii state law.[3] In the same year, she also co-authored a study that exposed the high rate of online sex purchasing in Hawaii.[4] The release of the report led Jabola-Carolus to receive physical threats leading to a lockdown of her state office.[5] The study also alleged that police officers asked for sex in exchange for "looking the other way".[6]
Jabola-Carolus drove legislation allowing people to mark their gender as an "X" on their driver's license[1] as well as being involved in the effort to pass legislation allowing sex workers to vacate a prostitution conviction.[2] She also worked as director for the Hawaii Coalition for Immigrant Rights.[1]
In 2023, Jabola-Carolus coauthored a report on the Lahaina wildfires that determined that 1 in 6 female survivors were forced to survival sex in order to secure temporary shelter.[7] When the same statistic was quoted by United States secretary of homeland security Kristi Noem, Jabola-Carolus countered that the report's findings were being "twisted".[8]
Jabola-Carolus is the current executive director of the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women.[3] She is the only millennial in Hawaii to direct a statewide government agency.[2]
Due to patriarchy
In July 2020, during COVID-19 lockdowns, Jabola-Carolus set her work email address to send the following out-of-office message:[9]
After going viral on social media, Jabola-Carolus urged other women to not "suffer silently" and help draw attention to the pandemic's impact on women.[10]
References
- ^ a b c d Fujii-Oride, Noelle (February 11, 2021). "20 for the Next 20: Khara Jabola-Carolus". Hawaii Business. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Apolitical's 100 Most Influential People in Gender Policy". apolitical.co. 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
- ^ a b Eagle, Nathan (September 24, 2018). "'Tragic' Findings For Hawaii's Transgender Youth In New State Report". CivilBeat.org. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ "VIDEO: Hawaii Sex Trafficking Report Explores Online Buyers". BigIslandVideoNews.com. December 11, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
- ^ Richardson, Mahealani (September 24, 2018). "State official describes threat of 'imminent physical harm' after release of sex trafficking study". Hawaii News Now. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
- ^ Fujimori, Leila (February 21, 2019). "Sex workers say police are customers, study reveals". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
- ^ Lakhani, Nina (May 29, 2025). "Sexual exploitation and domestic violence soared after Lahaina wildfire, report finds". The Guardian. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
- ^ Bender, Maddie (July 10, 2025). "What Homeland Security Secretary Noem got wrong about Lahaina fire survivors". Hawaii Public Radio. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
- ^ Dingeman, Robbie (June 7, 2022). "Wāhine Issues: What Needs to Change for Women?". Honolulu. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ Hawkins, Roberta; Kern, Leslie (May 21, 2024). Higher Expectations: How to Survive Academia, Make it Better for Others, and Transform the University. Between the Lines. ISBN 9781771136600. Retrieved October 20, 2025.