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Holistic centre workers allege sexual harassment from bylaw officers

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Charlemagne

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Jul 19, 2017
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Holistic centre workers allege sexual harassment from bylaw officers

BY AMANDA FERGUSON POSTED APR 11, 2018 5:23 PM EDTLAST UPDATED APR 11, 2018 AT 7:01 PM EDT

LOCAL

The city has launched an investigation into the conduct of some of its bylaw officers in relation to allegations from women working in the city’s holistic centres — also known as body rub parlors.

The women reported being forced to take off their clothes to show officers their undergarments and have photos taken of them without their consent.

The allegations were brought forward Tuesday at the Licensing and Standards committee meeting by holistic centre staff and advocacy groups as part of a review into how the city regulates and enforces issues regarding these businesses.

Coun. Kristyn Wong-Tam said she’s met with about 10 women working at the parlours who have brought forward allegations of sexual harassment and violence. She says many are from a Chinese background, speak little English and felt they are being racially targeted by the city.

“They felt that there was discrimination in the way that they are being treated. They felt that having an officer come in three to four times a week to physically inspect their business and being asked repeated questions of I.D. checks, they felt that was rather punitive,” Wong-Tam said. “It was very disruptive to their business and some of the more serious allegations would include bylaw officers asking the women, or holistic practitioners, to disrobe and show them their undergarments which I believe is completely inappropriate and it is a form of sexual violence.”

A recent petition launched by the Holistic Practitioners Alliance also alleges the women were forced to sing for the officer’s entertainment, told to stand as a form of punishment and barred from using the bathroom during an inspection.

Tracey Cook, executive director of Municipal Licensing and Standards (MLS), told CityNews in a statement Wednesday that the city has launched an investigation as a result of the complaints brought forward.

“The concerns raised through the deputations yesterday will be investigated,” Cook said in a statement. “We have met with and will continue to meet with some of the groups that spoke yesterday to get their feedback and hear their concerns. The City takes complaints of staff misconduct very seriously and have mechanisms in place for investigation once they are received. City staff are expected to conduct themselves professionally at all times.”

The city recently hired five new bylaw officers after the 2017 Auditor General’s report called for an increase in inspections on holistic centres. As of late 2016, there were 410 such licensed locations in Toronto. The City said as many as a quarter of those appeared to be offering unauthorized services such as erotic massages.

The Holistic Practitioners Alliance says in the past five years, MLS has increased the number of inspections conducted from 500 times in 2013 to more than 1,700 in 2016.

None of these allegations have been proven. The city will continue to enforce bylaws and inspect holistic centres while the allegations are being investigated.

Watch News Segment Video In Link

http://toronto.citynews.ca/2018/04/11/bylaw-officers-sexual-harassment/
 
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sempel

Banned
Feb 23, 2017
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They talked about this on the radio. One of the key points is these businesses are being used to traffic women, some of them underage, hence the crackdown. Add in the fact that 1/4 go above and beyond and now you have sex trafficking, or at least the potential.

I can't speak to the alleged harassment but when Wong-Tam tries to play the race card, she's out to lunch.
 
MuseMgmt

MuseMgmt

The CEO's of MPA-ing
May 9, 2009
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1. Way more than 1/4 operate as body rub parlors
2. Trafficking is different than licensing misuse
3. This isnt the 1st time bylaw officers have gotten in trouble for this kind of behavior.
4. The city will do nothing about any of these problems beyond transferring the offending officers to garbage duty.

Unfortunately.
 
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lomotil

Well-known member
Mar 14, 2004
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Oblivion
These women who are being targeted are sex workers and Bill C36 gives prostitutes immunity to prosecution and argues that should be able to work in a safe environment. Living off the avails of prostitution if illegal, so that the City of Toronto, by collecting an annual licensing fee from these sex worker's handlers ( aka madams, pimps) is also illegal. Therefor the City who is actually the biggest pimp should be monitoring the action of their bylaw officers or even LE with respect to the potential for harassment of the sex workers.
 
Polaris

Polaris

Well-known member
Oct 11, 2007
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hornyville
lomotil said:
These women who are being targeted are sex workers and Bill C36 gives prostitutes immunity to prosecution and argues that should be able to work in a safe environment. Living off the avails of prostitution if illegal, so that the City of Toronto, by collecting an annual licensing fee from these sex worker's handlers ( aka madams, pimps) is also illegal. Therefor the City who is actually the biggest pimp should be monitoring the action of their bylaw officers or even LE with respect to the potential for harassment of the sex workers.
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Good point!

Damn City Hall no good at all under this spineless John Tory.

Can't wait ... can't wait until Doug Ford wins and gives spineless Tory a "massage".

:ambivalence:
 
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wilbur

Active member
Jan 19, 2004
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sempel said:
They talked about this on the radio. One of the key points is these businesses are being used to traffic women, some of them underage, hence the crackdown. Add in the fact that 1/4 go above and beyond and now you have sex trafficking, or at least the potential.

I can't speak to the alleged harassment but when Wong-Tam tries to play the race card, she's out to lunch.
Click to expand...
The allegation of trafficking of women is conflation galore, because although the term 'trafficking' can mean a wide variety of activities, prohibitionists and intended it to mean the exploitation of women and especially 'girls' against their will. The term trafficking is very broad and means transporting and dealing in something that is illegal. So for example, transporting and transacting in contraband cigarettes is trafficking. The fact that people on student visas, or those on expired tourist visas are not permitted to work, and who work anyway, are being trafficked by those who knowingly hire them. And that includes working as a waitress in a restaurant. But they are doing it willingly and are not being exploited.

The hypocrite abolitionists and prohibitionists only care about about imposing their own morality on the rest of us, and not the protection of vulnerable people.

That being said, if a holistic place delivers services that are not listed in their permit, then they could get their permit revoked. That has nothing to do with prosecuting sex workers.

But the actions of those bylaw enforcement officers goes too far. Storefront establishments are the best venue for checking up on underage coercive activity. Closing these establishments means that those who do provide those extras wind up underground, right into the hand of pimps, and with no city oversight, thus enabling the very thing they purport to want to avoid: the exploitation of vulnerable women.

This should be like speed limits. Everybody breaks them, but as long as you don't over do it, you are left alone.
 
oldjones

oldjones

CanBarelyRe Member
Aug 18, 2001
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You don't think this is just the predictable follow-up to the earlier TV news reports about the proliferation of MPs? Some of the increased attention and new hiring was bound to go wrong; as Emily says, it's been a known issue before. And it wouldn't be the first time media spun out a story of their own making by reporting common occurrences as if they were new and unexpected.

Nor the first time that minor functionaries acted like petty tyrants and bullies to those they're supposed to protect and serve.
 
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corrie fan

Well-known member
Nov 13, 2014
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Quite a few years ago there was a great deal of concern about large numbers of underage women working in massage parlours. One day the police and bylaw officers inspected about 60 MPs and holistic businesses and found about 5 underage workers. Even one underage woman working in this industry is too many but this is an example of a problem being exaggerated. The cop in charge of the project acknowledged that there were not large numbers of underage workers in MPs.
 
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swizzlechest

Active member
Apr 30, 2015
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Or they could be defending themselves by going on the offensive against bylaw officers. How many officers want to be identified in reports like this regardless of what is true?
 
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anonemouse

Well-known member
Aug 23, 2002
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Toronto
Mr Bret said:
They are some of the most inefficient speakers I've ever heard.
Hundreds of words to ineffectively say what could have been better said with a few.
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Most politicians can talk for a couple of minutes and at the end, when you think about it, they didn't say a damn thing!
 
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