The real question is, do you know for sure that the massage therapist you last saw, works for a legitimate licensed massage therapy center, or do they work for a business that contributes to illegal prostitution, organized crime, and human trafficking?
Why am I even asking this question?
It all started with the first questionable massage place that opened up on Scottsville Road in 2013 and then the startling realization that a deviant predator had stalked me. Please read the article I wrote in early 2016, A Dangerous Client Fantasy. My focus for that article four years ago was about the constant calls I was getting from men soliciting my massage therapists and me for illicit activities. These men were (are) part of an internet game that you will not believe.
We all remember this past summer’s “massage parlor” bust in Bowling Green, along with its black light and laundry revelations. These are only two of a dozen or so “massage parlors” that have shown up in BG since 2013. They are not hard to spot with their “darkened windows in storefronts”, and the fact that if you google their name, they pop up on all kinds of sites that advertise illicit activities. Don’t believe me? Google away!
Massage parlor sex trafficking is one of the top three methods in the U.S. for human trafficking to happen. It doesn’t get as much attention as child trafficking because people assume that the adult women involved are making their own choice to participate, but this is not a statistical reality. A lot of these women doing illegal massages are human slaves living in fear.
Hopefully, a new day is dawning for awareness on this subject. January happens to be Sex Trafficking Awareness Month, and filmmakers are jumping in with a new movie, Blind Eyes Open, The Truth About Sex Trafficking in America. As of 2019, The International Center of KY and Phoenix Rising of Bowling Green are actively standing up to this evil with real plans to assist these victims with getting to safety and reacclimating into healthy society.
What can YOU do to fight human trafficking in Bowling Green?
Stop visiting these questionable massage places!!! How do you know who’s legit?
- Ask the business if their therapists have massage licenses. If they say “no,” then don’t book an appointment and move to step #4.
- Ask the business for the first and last name of the therapist that will be working on you. If they don’t give it, move to step #4.
- Verify that the therapist has a license by using KY’s easy search engine: http://oop.ky.gov/lic_search.aspx. (See picture to the right.) You will have to scroll to the bottom of the page to see the results.
- If you can’t verify a massage license, cancel the requested appointment and fill out this online complaint form: Complaint form
If you need any help or want to remain anonymous, call me! I will make time to help you. Heck, I’ll even mail the complaint to the state for you and follow through with monitoring the results. Complaints won’t stop depraved human trafficking in the world, but we can make a start by running these places out of business in our town.
Bowling Green should be a safe haven for healthy families, not slavery & unlicensed bodyworkers!