What would make massage parlours safe? Cameras and regulations are a start, advocate says
Groups agree regulation is necessary, but SHOP is unhappy with lack of consultation
A group working with police and the provincial government to regulate massage parlours in Newfoundland and Labrador says regulations are necessary to keep women who work in the sex trade safe — but not everyone is happy with the process of developing those regulations.
Melendy Muise, who was sexually exploited herself as a teenager, works with the Coalition Against the Sexual Explitation of Youth (CASEY) at Thrive in St. John's.
Muise said she would like to see cameras in massage parlours and independent security staff to keep women safe.
"There has to be regulation, we have to be able to go in and make sure those regulations are being followed and make sure the women are safe," she told CBC Radio's St. John's Morning Show.
Muise said there are 10 to 12 massage parlours in the city and she hears from clients that there is a lot of sex work happening in the parlours.
She says regulation is needed, and her group has been working with police for several months.
"The importance of regulating this issue is to keep the women that are indoors safe, that is the ultimate goal," she said.
"It's not about anything else."
Muise said the difficult and dangerous nature of sex work makes it important to have some oversight.
"What I know from my own personal experience with being exploited as a young person, and from working with people now, is we know there's a lot of mental health and addictions concerns … people are doing a lot of survival sex," she said.
"This is not just like any other job. The rates of PTSD are higher in people who do this work, so we know it's not all sunshine and rainbows for people. And that's part of our concern and why we want to move forward with the regulations."
Increased security, age restrictions
She said increasing age restrictions from 18 would also be an option.
"You have to be 19 to drink a beer, maybe you should have to be 19 to purchase a woman as well."
While it is legal to sell sex, it is illegal to purchase it, and Muise said women are often forgotten and ought to be protected.
They're women, and they matter in our community, they deserve our protection.- Melendy Muise
"The stigma has fallen on the women, we don't talk about the purchasers, we don't even talk about the traffickers or the pimps. The stigma has solely fallen on the women," she said.
"They're women, and they matter in our community. They deserve our protection and not to turn our head and walk away and forget about them."
Muise said her group's work with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary have made people working in the sex trade more comfortable reaching out to police and she said there's been an increase in those who are doing so.
Chief Joe Boland said the RNC is making a concerted effort to work with those in the community to come up with a plan to protect women and girls, and have had discussions with people who have worked in the industry.
'A bit surprised' not to be consulted
But another group that represents sex workers in St. John's — the Safe Harbour Outreach Program, or SHOP — says they were not asked to be involved in the consultation process.
Heather Jarvis, SHOP's program coordinator, said they also want to keep people working in the sex trade safe, it's important to have the "right people" involved.
Jarvis said her group has a working relationship with the RNC and would expect to be part of the process.
We need to make sure we're hearing all of those voices, not just picking and choosing.- Heather Jarvis
"We were a bit surprised to hear that the RNC chief had gone to, even the province, the city, to talk about regulations because we feel that those conversations are always going to be best when they're collaborative," Jarvis said.
"If we can speak together about what we see, what we know and what our concerns are, that will create the best solutions. We have also reached out to our province to talk and say 'please make sure that the voices of workers in the massage parlors themselves are going to be included."'
Jarvis said SHOP has many quotes and recommendations that they would like to be heard.
"We have to make sure we're hearing from a diversity of voices, people who have had good experiences, bad experiences, people who used to work in massage parlours, people who still do," she said.
"We need to make sure we're hearing all of those voices, not just picking and choosing, because when we're too selective in that process, we're going to leave people behind."
With files from the St. John's Morning Show