The Sex Business15:42
With 400,000 prostitutes in Germany, Dateline takes a camera inside the country's mega-brothels, but have its liberal laws gone too far?
Hundreds of illegal brothels masquerading as massage shops, karaoke bars and beauty salons in Melbourne
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HUNDREDS of illegal brothels, many of which offer unsafe sexual practices and put women’s safety at risk, are operating across Melbourne.
And police admit the sheer size of the industry makes it difficult to investigate.
Victoria Police spokeswoman Sara-Jane Delaney shied from going into specifics, but said the Sex Industry Coordination Unit had investigated a number of alleged illegal brothels in Moreland and Hume over the past 12 months.
“What we can say is that one of the things that makes it so difficult is simply the size of the illegal industry,” she said.
Ms Delaney said the majority of illegal brothels operated under the guise of massage shops, with others in homes, beauty salons and karaoke bars.
The owner of a legal brothel confirmed with Leader that some illegal establishments advertised as massage shops on various websites, sometimes posting photos of workers in skimpy outfits and provocative poses.
Some of the descriptions include the women’s appearances, dress and bra sizes, countries of origin and ages.
The ads showcase services available in suburbs including Ascot Vale, Brunswick, Campbellfield, Craigieburn, Dallas, Essendon, Epping, Flemington, Footscray, Glenroy, Mill Park, Moonee Ponds, Oak Park, Pascoe Vale, Preston, Reservoir, Sunbury, Sunshine, St Albans and Tullamarine.
The police unit has also received reports of underage workers, people trafficking and illegal brothels offering sex without condoms.
Ms Delaney encouraged workers subjected to such working practices to come forward, saying: “Our priority is your safety and wellbeing.”
Legal brothel owners have criticised authorities, with one telling Leader: “We would all be financially better off if we ran illegal places.”
“The government is missing out on gazillions in tax because they are not following up on these illegal places,” the owner said.
Another owner said no one in authority was prepared to “stand up and take responsibility”.
Working with police, non-profit organisation Project Respect has launched a project to map illegal brothels in Moreland, Yarra, Monash and Dandenong.
Acting executive director Rachel Reilly said she feared for the safety of women working in Melbourne’s estimated 500 illegal and unregistered sex premises.
She said laws helped to protect women’s welfare in the licensed sex sector, whereas illegal brothels would not usually report violent customers to police.
“We recently heard of two women who were choked and strangled by their clients — they weren’t able to refuse the men and there was no recourse for the men’s actions,” she said.
While the working women didn’t earn large sums, owners and operators of illegal brothels were also the ones who benefited most financially, Ms Reilly said.
“While I can’t confirm the extent of the issue, organised crime, gangs and people traffickers are most certainly represented within the illegal brothel industry and this has been confirmed through our conversations with SICU (the Victoria Police Sex Industry Co-ordination Unit) and local government councils,” Ms Reilly said.
Ms Reilly also said while Australian citizens worked at illegal premises, many women from overseas also did so.
“Women who are on visas (tourist, student or working) may be working in illegal brothels due to the inability to find work in mainstream sectors,” she said. “There are significant language barriers which makes it difficult to access mainstream services.
“They want to make fast money — to pay for expensive student visa fees or to send back to their family in their country of origin.”
Illegal and unregistered brothels which masquerade as massage shops are also impacting professionals in the massage industry and can jeopardise their safety, experts say.
Massage Association of Australia secretary Pauline Kelly said it was “common” for clients who visited illegal premises to expect the same services from professional, qualified masseuses and therapists.
“If a client is used to visiting a clinic that offers the adult services without a permit, then decides to try another clinic that does not, they do expect the same and do put pressure on the new, inexperienced professional therapist,” Ms Kelly said.
“It is in particular very stressful for new professional therapists just starting careers. They are very vulnerable and often uncertain how to handle it.”
Ms Kelly said members placed in these types of situations often contacted the MMA office to ask for advice on what to do and how to protect themselves.
She said the association regularly checked advertising to see if any of its members were offering adult services.
“If a member is found to be working in a clinic that is proven to be offering adult services the member is expelled from the association,” she said.
Ms Kelly said in the past two years, the association had received six inquiries from the public about massage shops which people believed were “fronts” for brothels.
During investigations, the association worked closely with police and adult services organisations, she said.
Ms Kelly urged members of the public to report suspected illegal brothels to authorities.
To report an unlicensed brothel or criminal activity in the sex work industry, contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Former journalist Amanda Goff on her decision to become a sex worker0:40
Former media personality tells Sunday Night about her decision to become Samantha X - a
HOW TO SPOT AN ILLEGAL BROTHEL
There’re some simple signs to look out for in order to tell the difference between professional massage businesses and illegal brothels, according to Massage Association of Australia secretary Pauline Kelly.
“The professional clinic in a suburban shopping strip is usually open and transparent,” Ms Kelly said.
Other signs distinguishing a massage business from an illegal bordello:
• Clinic staff often wear uniforms, display education certificates, association member certificates and brochures on how to make a complaint
• Opening and closing times are an indicator, as professional therapists do not usually offer very late appointments
• Massage shops offering sexual services often operate from “dodgy” business fronts that close and reopen
• Illegal brothels also have blacked-out windows and are open late into the night, advertising offers like “hot new Asian babes”
• They also entertain and target a gendered clientele
• While some advertisements state “no sex”, they often include statements like: “new young sexy hot girls”, “sensual massage”, “all Asian young girls” and “sexy body and oil slide”
• Most ads do not quote a SWA number on their advertisements, which is required of all legal brothels under the Sex Work Act
• Online listings advertising “massage services” post photos of workers in skimpy outfits and provocative poses, with some descriptions including their appearances, dress and bra sizes, countries of origin and ages