“Agents constantly approach us to send masseuses to work abroad through them.”
Owner of Thai massage in Phuket, Thailand
After speaking with the masseuse from my friend’s massage parlour in Phuket, Thailand, I had the opportunity to talk with a friend who is now working in a massage parlour that is a family business. He shared several interesting pieces of information with me, and here’s what I learned from him.
- His parlour has a policy that prohibits employees from providing sexual services or anything similar, although they don’t put up any signs to that effect. Most customers never ask about it, possibly because the parlour isn’t just a massage place; the name includes the word “spa,” and they offer other beauty services as well. However, there was an incident where a masseuse was harassed by a customer and ran out of the massage room. The best they could do was have security escort the customer out, as there wasn’t enough evidence to file a police report.
- He believes that the reason tourists think Thai women or women from Southeast Asia are involved in sex work might be because it actually happens. In Phuket, you can sometimes see it on the streets or in various tourist areas, involving both women and transgender individuals.
- The parlour doesn’t have branches abroad like some of the larger spa chains in tourist provinces, so they don’t have a policy of sending workers abroad. However, agents frequently visit the parlour or contact them, offering commissions if the parlour sends masseuses to work overseas. But they have never sent anyone because most of the employees at the parlour are older, and some have already had experience working abroad. Additionally, the parlour is concerned about being deceived and potentially placing their masseuses in dangerous situations. Training a masseuse takes a long time, and the parlour doesn’t want to lose a quality masseuse, which would force them to find and train a new Thai masseuse from scratch.