Let's Talk Human Rights

By Tony Talbott, Bailey Johnson '22 & Ahmi' Moore '24

Illicit massage businesses (IMBs) are multi-billion dollar criminal enterprise that takes place in all fifty US states. It is estimated there are currently over 10,000 IMBs in the US and approximately 300 in Ohio. In this 3-part blog, members of the Abolition Ohio team share insights from the report, ‘Disrupting Illicit Massage Businesses and Human Trafficking in Ohio’ including the main trends around IMBs today, what the municipal response in the Greater Dayton area has been and a strategy for disruption of this form of human trafficking.

Human Rights 

Human rights mean that all human beings are entitled to protections regardless of race, age, sex, religion, language, or cultural background. IMBs involve a range of human rights violations and using a human rights framework allows the pervasiveness of exploitation and abuses of victims of IMBs to come to the fore. A human rights framework also provides 1) a more cohesive set of legal tools to be used, 2) a more holistic approach that centers the victims involved and 3) a broader perspective that places the occurrences at IMBs within an international context.  

The international human rights framework consists of legally binding norms related to IMBs such as the right not to be held in slavery and servitude, including forced labor and imprisonment. Also included is that everyone has the right to work, with free choice of employment, just and favorable work conditions, protection against unemployment, and equal pay and work without distinction to race, color, or national or ethnic origin.  

Racism 

Race is a large contributor, along with gender, legal status, and class, to how IMBs operate. Human traffickers target and exploit the vulnerabilities of potential victims; such as poverty, prior victimization, trauma, substance abuse disorders and homelessness. This is not to say that human trafficking only affects a certain sub-group of people, though it is more likely to occur among groups of people who suffer from vulnerabilities. People of color in the US are more likely to live in poverty and are some of the most vulnerable and widely affected groups who are trafficked. 

Vulnerability based on race and socioeconomic status is evident in respect to IMBs. The victims of IMBs are predominantly female Asian immigrants (Chinese, South Korean, Thai, and Filipino). Many of these women come from impoverished backgrounds and rural communities. A lack of resources leads them to seek opportunities abroad. Many end up immigrating to the US and falling victim to fraudulent debt. Once here, racial discrimination, a lack of social or professional networks and a lack of language skills limit job choices, so they turn to massage as a means to pay off their debt. 

In addition, we found that racial discrimination and stereotypes are common to IMBs and drive this business. These stereotypes include viewing Asian women as submissive and hyper-sexual. IMBs survive through and perpetuate detrimental attitudes of exoticization and fetishization.  

COVID-19

Our research has also brought to light the way that human trafficking and specifically IMBs have been affected by the global Covid-19 pandemic. Efforts to curtail the spread of the virus unintentionally created an environment in which all forms of human trafficking could thrive. Many public officials in the US, including in Ohio, implemented measures to combat Covid-19, such as restricting travel throughout the US and the globe and closing schools, businesses (including massage establishments) and other public venues where large gatherings are common. These restrictions increased individual and systemic vulnerabilities, such as poverty, unemployment and housing insecurity. This made individuals more susceptible to trafficking and further exacerbated the vulnerabilities of existing human trafficking victims.  Members of migrant communities and low-skilled workers have been disproportionately impacted by these changes. 

IMBs, which are particularly effective in their networking abilities across the US, quickly adapted to the new climate the pandemic created and took advantage of law enforcement and victim service organizations' setbacks. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the already lucrative and hidden crimes of sex and labor trafficking have become all the more lucrative and hidden. 

In sum, IMBs are a criminal industry that profits from and perpetuates racism, sexism and societal inequalities. Addressing human trafficking in IMBs from a human rights perspective puts these issues at the forefront of advocacy efforts. As IMBs quickly adapt and change, the work of combatting IMBs must be actively anti-racist, and advocates must work together to find innovative solutions while facing the challenges of a global pandemic. 

Read our full report and learn more about Illicit Massage Businesses here.

Tony Talbott is the Director of Advocacy at the Human Rights Center and director of Abolition Ohio, the Miami Valley’s Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition. He lectures in the Human Rights and the Sustainability Studies Programs. 

Bailey Johnson worked as a graduate assistant with the Human Rights Center and Abolition Ohio and is a graduate student in UD’s master of public administration program. She also holds a bachelor's degree in human rights studies from UD. 

Ahmi’ Moore is a second-year Human Rights Studies and English double major at the University of Dayton. She has been a student intern with the Human Rights Center and Abolition Ohio since her freshman year.