Illicit Massage Business Lived Experience Survey
Reset180 partnered with The Network to survey 67 Chinese-speaking women who have worked in the illicit massage industry in the United States. Rather than focusing on the legal elements of trafficking, this report follows the women’s lived experiences—from life before migration, to their arrival in the U.S., into the massage industry, and toward the futures they want.
The vast majority of women who participated in the survey (51) identified as Chinese nationals. 12 participants were U.S. nationals, and 3 were from Taiwan.
Many women described significant hardships before migrating to the United States. 40 participants reported at least one experience, such as divorce, domestic or intimate partner violence, and gender inequity.
