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priority for law enforcement. It's only
done through public outcry," she says.
"Enforcement is not a matter of
will, it's a matter of resources," Medina
says. "Prior to 2008, vice units were
regulating massage parlors, along with
county code enforcement officers,
the sheriff's department, and local
law enforcement." Erika Gonzalez, a
program director of immigration legal
services at Opening Doors, says many
agencies lost their vice departments,
which once oversaw much of this
enforcement, after the economic
downturn in 2008. Staff resources
are short, they say, leaving massage
parlors to fall through the cracks.
As a result, since 2008, the number
of these massage parlors has grown
exponentially, almost tripling in the
last four years, according to Medina.
Medina paints the picture of
regulatory failure that's occurred in
Sacramento, where there is one person
responsible for handling the oversight
of all massage establishments, which
includes approximately 150 applications
a week. "They barely have time to
do the background check, let alone
go in and visit each establishment."
Gonzalez says current massage
parlor laws are already strong.
"We don't see a need to change
the law. Our approach is really to
collaborate and work as a collective
with law enforcement."
What Can You Do?
hile massage and bodywork
schools can certainly be
part of the answer by
having checks and balances within their
own system to ensure credibility and
prevent the illegal sale of transcripts,
advocates say much of the change
we can effect within our profession
will come from the individual
massage therapist and bodyworker.
"We're encouraging massage
therapists to come alongside us, and
we're asking them to be educated
about human trafficking and be our
eyes and ears in the community about
what's going on," Medina says.
"The more that legitimate
massage therapists can come forward
and defend their profession, the
more helpful it is to both victims of
human trafficking and to legitimate
massage therapists," Gonzalez adds.
Patrizio agrees that there is much
a massage therapist can do. "I do not
pretend to have the answers, but I
know for certain that simply accepting
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criminal activity and injustice, because
it has always gone on, is not the
answer," he says. "Saying no to injustice
can be the first step for creating
positive and lasting change."
Notes
1. US Department of State, "Trafficking in
Persons Report, June 2012," accessed
December 2012, www.state.gov/
documents/organization/192587.pdf.
2. US Department of Health and Human Services,
accessed December 2012, www.hhs.gov/
news/factsheet/humantrafficking.html.
3. Polaris Project, "Asian Massage Parlors in
the United States," accessed December
2012, www.polarisproject.org/resources/
resources-by-topic/sex-trafficking.
4. Ibid.
5. Registered massage therapists (RMTs) will
be exempt from Colorado's new posting
requirements; California posting regulations will
exempt those therapists certified by the California
Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC). Florida
has just signed a human trafficking regulation,
which requires the place of business, and anyone
working within, to provide valid government
documentation and identification. Other states
considering regulation tied to human trafficking
include Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota,
Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma,
Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Washington.
Karrie Osborn is contributing editor for Massage & Bodywork magazine.
Contact her at karrie@abmp.com.
www.abmp.com. See what benefits await you. 91
