I think it’s safe to say that even at the most basic level, everyone should have the right to feel safe in the workplace. Whether you are a Bus Driver, work in an office or are out on patrol as a Bobbie on the Beat.
Unfortunately, our friends over at Spa Satori, and many of the other legitimate spas and therapists around the city, and indeed the country, are lacking in even this basic desire of safety due to a rising number of incidents of harassment.
This harassment has manifested itself in the frequent and often perverse confusion regarding the role and services associated with legitimate Health and Beauty Providers. As an industry, it is often a daily occurrence for staff to be confronted with people expecting entirely different services than what they are qualified and insured for – services most closely related to the sex industry.
In response, Spa Satori and members of the legitimate Health and Beauty industry have got together to try and force change within the current environment, based upon two main calls for action:
- Better licensing of legitimate Health and Beauty Providers and a certification for such businesses, so that they are easily recognised by potential customers as legitimate. This would confirm to customers that they are have a team of qualified, insured & fully certified therapists.
- Legalise the sex work that goes on in some ‘Massage Parlours,’ which could possibly increase safety for vulnerable sex workers and decrease modern slavery and trafficking. This legalisation would make the industry more transparent and less ambiguous as to which businesses provide therapeutic massage and which provide massage with the end goal of sexual gratification.
It’s a shame that most massage therapists are being propositioned daily to provide ‘Happy Endings’, with many of them finding being asked for sexual services as extras making them fear for their safety. Many therapists are subject to sexual harassment and leave the industry because of this, and even receptionists find it a daily battle with seedy phone calls and perverse e-mails.
As such, they have got together to create a petition, focusing on the two main points mentioned above, so that workers within the legitimate Health and Beauty industry can work in safety and away from the embarrassment, fear and degradation that currently exists with a small number of customers.
https://www.change.org/p/lets-stop-sexual-services-masquerading-as-massage-services
Spa Satori, 112 High St, Manchester M4 1HQ
0161 819 2465
www.spasatori.co.uk/
