Haw. Rev. Stat. » Haw. Rev. Stat. / Chapter 586
Hawaii Revised Statutes

Haw. Rev. Stat. § 586-1 (2026)

  Definitions

✓ current as of July 2026
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[PART I.  GENERAL PROVISIONS]

 

Revision Note

 

  Part designation added by revisor pursuant to §23G-15.

 

     §586-1  Definitions.  As used in this chapter:

     "Coercive control" means a pattern of threatening, humiliating, or intimidating actions, which may include assaults, or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten an individual.  "Coercive control" includes a pattern of behavior that seeks to take away the individual's liberty or freedom and strip away the individual's sense of self, including bodily integrity and human rights, whereby the "coercive control" is designed to make an individual dependent by isolating them from support, exploiting them, depriving them of independence, and regulating their everyday behavior including:

     (1)  Isolating the individual from friends and family;

     (2)  Controlling how much money is accessible to the individual and how it is spent;

     (3)  Monitoring the individual's activities, communications, and movements;

     (4)  Name-calling, degradation, and demeaning the individual frequently;

     (5)  Threatening to harm or kill the individual or a child or relative of the individual;

     (6)  Threatening to publish information or make reports to the police or the authorities;

     (7)  Damaging property or household goods; and

     (8)  Forcing the individual to take part in criminal activity or child abuse.

     "Dating relationship" means a romantic, courtship, or engagement relationship, often but not necessarily characterized by actions of an intimate or sexual nature, but does not include a casual acquaintanceship or ordinary fraternization between persons in a business or social context.

     "Domestic abuse" means:

     (1)  Physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or the threat of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, or assault, extreme psychological abuse, coercive control, or malicious property damage between family or household members; or

     (2)  Any act which would constitute an offense under section 709-906, or under part V or VI of chapter 707 committed against a minor family or household member by an adult family or household member.

     "Extreme psychological abuse" means an intentional or knowing course of conduct directed at an individual that seriously alarms or disturbs consistently or continually bothers the individual, and that serves no legitimate purpose; provided that such course of conduct would cause a reasonable person to suffer extreme emotional distress.

     "Family or household member":

     (1)  Means spouses or reciprocal beneficiaries, former spouses or former reciprocal beneficiaries, persons who have a child in common, parents, children, persons related by consanguinity, persons jointly residing or formerly residing in the same dwelling unit, and persons who have or have had a dating relationship; and

     (2)  Does not include those who are, or were, adult roommates or cohabitants only by virtue of an economic or contractual affiliation.

     "Malicious property damage" means an intentional or knowing damage to the property of another, without his consent, with an intent to thereby cause emotional distress. [L 1982, c 123, pt of §2; am L 1987, c 359, §2; am L 1997, c 383, §64; am L 1998, c 172, §1; am L 2000, c 186, §2; am L 2016, c 231, §62; am L 2020, c 20, §5]

 

Revision Note

 

  Definitions rearranged pursuant to §23G-15.

 

Case Notes

 

  Where defendant testified at defendant's criminal trial that complainant was defendant's niece and that they had formerly resided together at the home of defendant's father, this testimony established that defendant and complainant met the definition of "family or household member" under this section; thus, family court had jurisdiction to issue the protection order under §586-5.5 and the protection order was valid.  112 H. 136 (App.), 144 P.3d 584 (2006).

 

 

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 37 cases (20 in the last 5 years), 1997–2026 · leading case: Hamilton Ex Rel. Lethem v. Lethem, 270 P.3d 1024 (Haw. 2012).
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Hamilton Ex Rel. Lethem v. Lethem, 270 P.3d 1024 (Haw. 2012). · cites it 25× “(1) parents have a fundamental right to discipline their children under the United States and Hawai'i constitutions that includes a right to employ corporal punishment; (2) the ICA incorrectly dismissed Petitioner’s argument because it concluded that (a) the criminal statutory…”
Coyle v. Compton, 940 P.2d 404 (Haw. App. 1997). · cites it 6× “Domestic abuse is defined in HRS § 586-1 (1993) as: (1) Physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or the threat of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, or assault, extreme psychological abuse or malicious property damage between family or household members; or (2) Any act which…”
Uyeda v. Schermer., 439 P.3d 115 (Haw. 2019). · cites it 2× “Specifically, Schermer claimed that his relationship with Carolyn Uyeda was "characterized by actions of an intimate or sexual nature," HRS § 586-1, and that jurisdiction was therefore conferred on the family court by HRS § 586-2.”
Kie v. McMahel, 984 P.2d 1264 (Haw. App. 1999). · cites it 5× “"Domestic abuse” is defined in HRS § 586-1 (1993) as: (1) Physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or the threat of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, or assault, extreme psychological abuse or malicious property damage between family or household members; or (2) Any act which…”
Lite v. McClure, 206 P.3d 472 (Haw. App. 2009). · cites it 8× “]" HRS § 586-1 (2006). [3] McClure and Lite both testified that they had been in a dating and intimate relationship.”
Hamilton Ex Rel. Lethem v. Lethem, 260 P.3d 1148 (Haw. App. 2011). · cites it 10× “HRS § 586-1. 4 As parents do not possess a fundamental right to inflict force or harm upon a child that “the legislature has deemed to be excessive and harmful to the child’s welfare,” rational basis review applies.”
State v. Ryan, 144 P.3d 584 (Haw. App. 2006). · cites it 2× “This testimony established that the CW and Ryan met the definition of “family or household member” under HRS § 586-1 (Supp.2005) both as “persons related by consanguinity” and as “persons .”
State v. Feliciano., 489 P.3d 1277 (Haw. 2021). “persons in a dating relationship as defined under section 586-1, persons who have a child in common, parents, children, persons related by consanguinity, and persons jointly residing or formerly residing in the same dwelling unit[.”
State v. Grindling, 31 P.3d 915 (Haw. 2001). “The order may be granted to any person who, at the time such order is granted, is a family or household member as defined in section 586-1.... The order shall enjoin the respondent or person to be restrained from performing any combination of the following acts: (1) Contacting,…”
Tortorello v. Tortorello, 145 P.3d 762 (Haw. App. 2006). · cites it 2× “The order may be granted to any person who, at the time the order is granted, is a family or household member as defined in section 586-1 or who filed a petition on behalf of a family or household member.”
Bailey v. Sanchez, 990 P.2d 1194 (Haw. App. 1999). · cites it 2× “With the exception of the “family or household member” context of HRS § 586-1, the predicate acts are identical under HRS § 586-5.”
Hill v. Inouye, 976 P.2d 390 (Haw. 1999). “The order may be granted to any person who, at the time such order is granted, is a family or household member as defined in section 586-1 or who filed a petition on behalf of a family or household member.”
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