Erotic massage parlour moratorium applauded by youth outreach group

Acommunity youth network is pleased to see the City of St. John's put a moratorium on adult massage parlours.

Angela Crockwell, executive director of youth outreach group Thrive, said she wants to commend the city for the move, saying that erotic massage parlours put vulnerable people at risk.

"I almost immediately tweeted out 'way to go City of St. John's' for putting a moratorium on these massage parlours," Crockwellsaid.

The city decided to implement the moratorium following complaints about a business on Wood Street, a residential area in the city's downtown.

• Moratorium on permits for adult massage parlours in St. John's

Crockwell thinks that the increase in the amount of massage parlours in St. John's in the past decade has meant more youth are potentially working in unsafe conditions.

"There are a lot of vulnerable people who work in those places, and they're often not always safe," he said.

"A reduction in massage parlours is a good thing."

She said she hasheard from people who claim that they have worked in massage parlours, and that they can sometimes be dangerous.

"Most people talk about working in places where they don't feel safe, or they'renot working there by choice, or are there by an exploitive experience," she told CBC News.

Alarming cases

While she acknowledged that most workers in the industry don't feel at risk, she said Thrive has heard of some troubling examples.

"We hear from people who have people in their lives who force them to work in the sex industry for money," she said.

"Somebody is forcing them to do an activity where they know they'll get paid to really support somebody else's drug habit or any other thing."

Sending the wrong message

Crockwell said that she understands the argument raised by some, that allowing massage parlours to operate under regulations makes it safer than banning them and forcing them to operate illegally.

However, she thinks that having such activitieslicensed and approved by the city doesn't necessarily guarantee thesafety of workers.

"When we think about the exploitation of people, having a kind of licensed and formal established doesn't protect people all of the time," she said.

"We need to make sure we aren't promoting an industry where people are being exploited and possibly harmed."

She thinks that the moratorium will allow the city to take a step back and properly assess the possible risks of having erotic massage parlours operating within St. John's.

"It's important for the city to really get a handle on how much of this is happening, who is regulating this."