Undocumented immigrant women may try to approach the police for protection, but they are often afraid of the police. In addition, they are paid a tiny fraction of the $60 an hour they pay for a full-hour massage. Massage parlors are not offering any sexual services to their clients.
Undocumented immigrant women are afraid to go to the police
Many undocumented immigrant women who work in Asian massage parlors are afraid to report their employers to the police because they don’t want to risk getting into trouble. The state has exploited the disease coronavirus to justify policing Asian migrant workers and creating discriminatory social welfare systems. Many of these women are unable to speak English and are forced to work in Asian massage parlors due to their low education levels.
The police often raid massage parlors, and massage workers have reported sexual assaults and confiscation of their valuables. One massage worker, Yang Song, fell four stories during a police raid, killing herself. The harassment that women face from police is disproportionate among Asian immigrant women.
They are paid just a sliver of the $60 or more they pay for an hourlong massage
The vast majority of Asian massage parlors are not illegal, but their workers are still a minority. They are paid just a fraction of what their customers pay for an hourlong massage. Most are undocumented, and many are afraid to speak to police or attorneys for fear of being retaliated against by traffickers. In addition, they do not trust attorneys because they feel morally obligated to their employers.
While not all of the workers at Las vegas asian massage parlors offer sexual services, many do. They do so to put food on the table. Hundreds of thousands of Asian immigrants across the country are working in these establishments.
They are treated like any other client
Although anti-trafficking raids claim to help victims of human trafficking, they have actually brought violence, abuse, and exploitation to Asian massage parlors. In one such incident, a woman named Song Yang was thrown out of a fourth-floor window to her death.
To combat this problem, the Philippines suggested implementing comprehensive HIV prevention programs aimed at masseuses, customers, business owners, and the community. The program included promoting HIV/STI testing and education for masseuses and managers, enforcing a 100% condom policy at all business venues, and addressing sociocultural and environmental factors.
They don’t offer sexual services
Many Asian massage parlors in the United States don’t offer sexual services. This is due to several reasons, including the fact that Asian massage workers are often undocumented and fear retaliation from traffickers. Many also feel a moral obligation to their employers.
According to a federal law enforcement official, the most common way for Asian women to enter the United States is to obtain a fake work or tourist visa. Many of these women came here as students and overstayed their visas to work in the sex industry. Often, these women arrive in the United States with heavy debt burdens. They can barely pay the bills at restaurants or nail salons, and asian massage in las vegas jobs are offered as an easy way to pay off the debt.