Let's Talk Human Rights

By Tony Talbott, Bailey Johnson '22 & Ahmi' Moore '24

As part of our research on Illicit Massage Businesses in Ohio, we explored how local municipalities work to combat IMBs within their jurisdiction through local ordinances and public policy. We assessed 28 municipalities within the greater Dayton area for nine characteristics of strong laws to combat IMBs. Based on our assessment, we produced a set of significant findings about ordinances in the Miami Valley area. The following is an overview of the nine characteristics and the extent to which municipalities adopted these characteristics into their municipal codes.

It is important to note that this assessment was conducted with municipal data in 2019. As such, some municipal codes referenced in this section may have changed since we conducted our initial assessment.

Characteristics of strong laws

The first characteristic is reference to unlawful advertisement of massage, which refers to the prohibition of the advertisement of massage with the suggestion or promise of sexual activity. This is also a law referenced in the Ohio Revised Code (ORC). We found that this was the most common characteristic included in legislation regulating massage establishments, with over 75% of municipal codes including this characteristic. 

The second characteristic is regulation of operating hours, which refers to a municipal code’s restriction of massage establishment operating hours. This is important because many IMBs tend to operate at odd hours in the late night or early morning to obscure illicit activity. Of the 28 municipal codes in our assessment, just over 20% included this characteristic.

The third characteristic is clarification of business ownership of massage establishments, which we define as a municipal code’s inclusion of a provision which requires that business owners of massage establishments provide sufficient personal identifiable information to his or her jurisdiction through processes. For example, this could be done through the issuing of a business license or permit. This is so business owners are not able to obscure their identity for the purpose of illicit activity. Of the 28 municipal codes in our assessment, just over 30% of municipalities included this characteristic.

The fourth characteristic is regulation of entrances and buzzer-controlled front doors, which we define as a municipal code’s prohibition of aspects of a massage establishment that obscure buyer behavior, such as side-entrances and buzzer-controlled front doors. Of the 28 municipalities in our assessment, none included this characteristic.

The fifth characteristic is inspections by applicable city departments, which we define as a municipal code’s inclusion of mandatory requirements for inspections of massage establishments by code enforcers within applicable city departments. Of the 28 municipalities in our assessment, just over 30% of municipalities included this characteristic.

The sixth characteristic is reference to the ORC Section 4731.15 requiring massage therapist licensing by the state medical board, which we define as a municipal code’s inclusion of the requirement that massage therapists employed by a massage establishment be licensed by the Ohio State Medical Board. Of the 28 municipalities in our assessment, exactly 25% of municipalities include this characteristic.

The seventh characteristic is reference to ORC Section 2907.39, which states that any establishment that employs individuals licensed by the state who engage in medically approved and recognized therapy, including massage therapy, are not adult entertainment or sexual encounter establishments. The inclusion of this language in legislation is critical for the destigmatization of legitimate massage establishments that feed into harmful cultural stereotypes. Of the 28 municipalities in our assessment, just over 40% included this characteristic.

The eighth characteristic is refraining from the use of stigmatizing definitions of massage establishments, including defining massage establishments as “sexually oriented businesses”, “adult entertainment establishments”, or the use of similar stigmatizing language to define or categorize massage establishments. We define this characteristic as a municipal code’s exclusion of language which further stigmatizes the massage therapy profession. Of the 28 municipalities in our assessment, just over 30% of municipalities did not utilize such language.

Finally, the ninth characteristic is refraining from the use of employee-centered regulations in some municipal codes that further stigmatize the profession of massage. We define this characteristic as a municipal code’s exclusion of employee-centered regulations of massage therapists that further stigmatize the profession in a manner that is not consistent with regulations imposed on other professions. Of the 28 municipalities in our assessment, exactly 50% of municipalities did not use sexual language that stigmatizes the profession of massage.

Findings

First, legislation that regulates massage businesses in the Miami Valley is clearly inconsistent across municipalities. This provides many opportunities for traffickers to take advantage of municipalities with lax regulations. It is important for municipalities to strengthen their legislation according to some of these characteristics to effectively prevent human trafficking within the larger region. At the same time, strengthening legislation will vary by municipality depending on factors like the size of the municipality and available law enforcement resources. 

Second, it is important to note that much of the current legislation regulating massage establishments contribute to the stigmatization of the massage profession. This further exacerbates cultural stereotypes that allow IMBs to thrive. Thus, additional legislation that is adopted by these municipalities should be informed by harm reduction. As an advocate explained:

“Any municipality aiming to strengthen legislation to reduce the number of IMBs should utilize a harm-reduction strategy which includes the involvement of legitimate massage therapists and business owners located within the jurisdiction of the municipality.” 

Finally, the city of Dayton, which is the largest municipality within the Miami Valley, does not have a section within its municipal code to regulate massage establishments. It is critical the city adopt a strong policy to combat IMBs and serve as an example of how municipalities can take action to reduce human trafficking. 

Read our full report and learn more about Illicit Massage Businesses here.

Tony Talbott is the Director of Advocacy at the Human Rights Center and director of Abolition Ohio, the Miami Valley’s Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition. He lectures in the Human Rights and the Sustainability Studies Programs.

Bailey Johnson worked as a graduate assistant with the Human Rights Center and Abolition Ohio and is a graduate student in UD’s master of public administration program. She also holds a bachelor's degree in human rights studies from UD.

Ahmi’ Moore is a second-year Human Rights Studies and English double major at the University of Dayton. She has been a student intern with the Human Rights Center and Abolition Ohio since her freshman year.