Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice

Policing Asian Massage Work

In the past decade, a wave of municipal licensing ordinances has swept through North America seeking to police Asian massage work in the name of combating human trafficking. These municipal ordinances have led to sensationalist sting operations that nearly universally subject massage workers to policing and, for those who are undocumented, deportation.

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As we continue to support the outreach efforts of sex workers’ rights organizations in Providence, RI, and Flushing, NY, the research cluster will continue to update this annotated list of new massage license laws that target Asian massage businesses.

Click here to watch a recording of the event White Supremacy, Policing, & Asian Massage Work that aired live on March 25, 2021

About the event: The recent killings of Asian massage workers in Atlanta has pointed to the linked systems of white supremacy and state violence. Please join the Simmons Center Human Trafficking Research Cluster in conversation with organizers and workers from Red Canary Song and Butterfly Project, two grassroots organizations of massage workers, sex workers, and allies, as we discuss the contexts of policing migrant massage work in Providence, New York City, and Toronto.

Featuring: Elene Lam from Butterfly Project & Yves Tong Nguyen, Esther Kao, and Wu from Red Canary Song
Moderated by Kamala Kempadoo and Elena Shih
With simultaneous Mandarin and Korean interpretation