International Sex Trafficking

Sex Trafficking and Massage Parlors

Massage Parlors, or AMPs, are infamous for providing services other than therapeutic massage. It is typically more expensive and perceived as more “glamorous” than the services as a streetwalker. The truth, however, can be far uglier.  As one of the lead attorneys behind New York State's tough anti-trafficking laws puts it:    “Uncovering sex trafficking is not as hard as we’ve all made it out to be.  We know that it’s taking place in places that advertise as massage parlors.”  Sister groups in Atlanta who work closely with the Atlanta police tell us the same thing.

Because everything happens behind closed doors, massage parlors can be isolating structures. Nobody knows for certain what goes on, which is how abuse can continue for far too long. However, we do know that the following red flags of potential sex trafficking occur in at least some of the Macon massage parlors:

• The women know little or no English
• The women claim that their passports and other documentation are elsewhere
• The women seem to live in the massage parlors; neighboring businesses say they never see any of the spa employees come and go.