Rep. John Mizuno and some of his legislative colleagues have introduced a package of bills this session to address a domestic-violence problem that continues to rip apart Hawai'i families and traumatize children.

After reading last month's seven-part Advertiser series, "Crossing The Line: Abuse In Hawai'i Homes," Mizuno said he realized that much more needs to be done to address the problem, even during tight fiscal times.

"Even if Hawai'i is in the worst recession in its history, that's no excuse to sit on the sidelines," said Mizuno, chairman of the House Human Services Committee.

In addition to introducing more than two dozen bills and resolutions aimed at curtailing abuse, Mizuno and other legislators have formed a coalition against domestic violence in hopes of bringing more attention to the problem and more focus to addressing solutions, he said.

The Advertiser series showed that the law-enforcement system has failed many domestic-violence victims, major gaps persist in the safety net for survivors and that Hawai'i for years has regularly topped the national average in domestic-violence murders per capita.

Many abused women said they have so little faith that the system will protect them and hold their abusers accountable that they don't report their beatings.

Mizuno said he realizes money will be tight in a session in which legislators will consider cutting existing services to deal with a budget deficit. So most of the bills in the domestic-violence package won't need funding or will instead propose ways to raise revenue, he said.

Among other things, the measures would: