Massage parlours provides sexual services and people can easily find them in Australia. However this industry is pretending not to know such services existed.
But according to SBS Radio Thai Program's and SBS Television The Feed's investigation, it is a different story. Asian migrant women and international female students as well as gay men are being lured to this practice hoping to earn good sum of money, without any mechanism from business owners to protect them, let alone they themselves have to fend for their work rights, their health and their safety.
Joy is not the real name of a Thai female international student in her 30s who spoke to SBS with anonymity that, she has been working for many massage parlours in Sydney for a year. She said that she did not know that this kind of services the "Happy Ending" services or sexual services even existed in Australia when she was in Thailand. And she has never had the thought of providing this kind of service, but after so many clients has asked her, she eventually felt pressure to provide this dodgy massage. This extra service includes nude massage, masturbation, oral sex or intercourse which has different price range from $20 to $150. Whatever she earned she can keep it all for herself and that she added that she can earn up to around $1,700 a week in cash.
Dr. Helen Pringle, a senior lecturer for Social Science at University of New South Wales who is interested in human trafficking and sexual slavery.
Dr. Pringle said that "There will be legitimate massage, or ordinary massage, that is offered, but, also there is a possibility of 'happy ending' service which is a grey area that massage industries exploited. Though she said, this services is not always penetrative sex in the usual sense of prostitution."
Though it is no illegal to sell sex in Australia, Australian prostitution laws are being implemented differently from state to state or local councils and police. Moreover, it is not easy to trace when it comes to sexual health practices, workplace and safety.
Joy said that "It's up to me to get checked or not. When I first came here, a friend told me to get checked. So I get checked every six months."
Dr. Helen Pringle said that according to Australian and international trafficking protocol, it does not has to be that a person is supposed to be kidnapped, chained to bed or being held virtually hostage to regard as human trafficking. However, Joy disagreed saying:
"She said that I never heard of it. All my friends who do this type of job are willing to do it at their own free will, because they can earn a lot of money than the other typical jobs."
Dr. Pringle added that Australia should adopt Nordic (Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Iceland) prostitution policy model which sex workers are allowed to sell sex but criminalize those who buy sex. Furthermore, she also suggests setting up a police unit that women can complaints their cases, discuss their problem and questions in confidence.
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