Help Stop Human Trafficking in Pierce County

[eridani]

http://www.thepierceprogressive.org/humantrafficking1

There are several ways in which human trafficking has become a huge problem in Washington state, putting our safety – especially the safety of our youth – at risk. This article focuses on the trafficking that I’ve become most familiar with – the low-cost ‘foot massage’ shops that have sprung up all over our communities in recent years. Some of these storefronts not only exploit their workers and foist untrained, unlicensed workers on the public, but some are also serving as fronts for prostitution. Since we have a major sporting event, The US Open, coming to University Place June 15-21, and there’s been some national and international discussion and confusion in recent years as to whether such events result in increased trafficking, I’ll include what I’ve learned about that in this article. There are easy and safe ways in which we can all help our Department of Health and law enforcement shut these facilities down, and I include links and instructions for everyone to readily access when/if they encounter these facilities and/or elsewhere-situated unlicensed massage or reflexology practitioners at the end of this article.

[countryjake]

1. The proliferation of such places also put certified massage therapists at risk

besides the horrors of human trafficking found at those phony ones, guys receiving treatment in a private room at an actual licensed massage facility might automatically assume they are paying for more "servicing", putting an LMP in danger of assault or even rape.

They raided a whole bunch of those prostitution covers (involving underage Asian girls) last year in eastern wa and according to a relative of ours who lives in Spokane, new shady-looking ones have now re-appeared. I don't know about Pierce County, but it seems that this method of sex-slavery is almost a mobile operation (like the rented houses for sporting events) where the operator/pimp goes underground briefly if the business is busted, his "employees"/smuggled women are detained or deported, then he re-surfaces after the coast is clear with newly trafficked girls.