Belgium is investigating whether, just like in the Netherlands, it can send anonymous officials to Eastern massage parlors in Antwerp. They must then check whether sexual hand and span services are also offered and whether Thai women work there who are victims of human trafficking or exploitation, writes Het Nieuwsblad.
The city is flooded with Thai and Chinese massage parlors and these types of businesses are also on the rise in other Belgian cities. Following the Dutch example, the Antwerp city council is investigating whether it can send anonymous officials to those massage parlors to check whether sexual services are offered in addition to neck and back massages. But also to check that the girls are not exploited and that they work in good hygienic conditions.
During previous inspections, the authorities found several abuses. Oriental ladies were used in various massage parlors in Belgium, but also had to provide happy endings. Human traffickers recruited women in Thailand. They promised them a better life in Europe by offering them work as a masseuse, but the ladies had to pay 10 to 20.000 euros for the journey and papers. Because most of them couldn't afford that, they worked on credit. They had to work long hours and also perform sexual acts to earn extra money. But they had to hand over most of those revenues so that they were completely dependent on the operators of the massage parlors, who were in fact their pimps.
Source: Het Nieuwsblad
Right action. I own a salon from my wife. This one is of course neat and without eroticism. The parlors with happy endings give us a bad name. It is also asked so often and some customers get angry when it turns out that eroticism is not possible here
Laughable decision (if it went through) that the City Council of my city is making.
Especially the motivation to do this makes no sense, namely that they want to protect those poor exploited Thai ladies against human traffickers…!
There are reasons for the government to monitor the proper (legal and fiscal) course of the indeed numerous (Thai) massage parlors, but that this is done under the guise of "we are going to get those poor ladies out of prostitution" I think is really hypocritical and too simple.
As if the large hidden and illegal and unwanted prostitution should be sought in that sector.
So no!
I do not believe that 1 Thai lady works in a massage parlor who is oppressed, why this proposal?
Oh Antwerp officials… knowing that a number of Antwerp police officers = officials possibly (according to the press and other reports) also blackmailed, blackmailed, abused illegals and all this for good money and/or other services… I wonder if this is a good idea. Of course those girls have to be protected, of course this kind of trade has to fall under the normal regulations. But there is a service called PAYOKE that is dedicated to protecting these exploited girls. Leave it out of the hands, sometimes too loose hands of “the” officials.
As a recently retired police officer (40 years of service) where I worked in serious crime for ten years and the last 15 years with the aliens police and in that capacity I have already applied and experienced many checks, I think I know something about this matter. I would advise people before writing something to read some information about it and then give their opinion. Human trafficking (human trafficking, smuggling, exploitation) is an everyday occurrence for millions of people on this planet. You will only be a victim of this and believe me there are many in Western European countries who are fellow sufferers of this. I have been able to help the necessary victims in many property investigations and therefore also in massage parlors or what passes for it to get out of this and this kind of action is certainly necessary in this world. Most people don't work there out of love for the job I can tell you, not to mention the behavior of the customer. Of course there are also ladies who already worked in prostitution in Thailand and thought they could earn more in the Netherlands or Belgium, but many came home from a rude awakening. So my motto is to deal with those criminals who hand out long prison sentences to pimps or exploiters.
Dear Jacques, everyone will agree 100% with your motto (tackling the criminal trade), but I have not read anything that shows that Thai ladies are being exploited in massage parlors in the center of Antwerp, so I think you are completely mistaken here!
I work a bit in a related sector, although this is irrelevant, but I dare to call myself a non-professional experience expert (visitor of massage parlors, the real scientific salons and the naughty salons, the ones that are now being targeted)…
I tell you that you will not find a single Thai lady 'in a massage parlor' in the big cities who is obliged to work there (in any form).
Maybe in other places and in other forms of 'entertainment' (clubs, salons in small villages, private houses, etc.), but not in massage parlors that you find in the streets of Antwerp!!!
Don't lump everything together!