Requests for sex make Thai masseuse 'feel sick'

The female owner of a Thai massage business says regular calls for sexual requests and extras are "racist" and must stop.

Jan Raithby, 53, has put up signs at her shop in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, urging customers to "please stop" making the demands.

Ms Raithby said she received up to 10 inappropriate calls a week and it made her feel "sick to her stomach".

Leslie Laine, of the Association of Biodynamic Massage Therapists, said the requests often targeted Thai workers and the pattern was "totally racist".

Traditional Thai massage involves a variety of techniques, including deep pressure, acupressure and stretching to improve flexibility and circulation.

Ms Raithby, who has worked in the massage industry for seven years, said customers regularly rang and came into the shop to make sexual requests and ask for extras.

She described an occasion when a man became aggressive after she told him she did not sell sex.

"He said he'd come to me and beat me up," Ms Raithby said.

When she insisted she only gave massages, she said he asked: "Why do you not... you are Thai?"

Ms Raithby said she believed the inappropriate behaviour was often fuelled by racism.

"I don't know why men think every Thai woman will do sex for money," she said.

"I'm scared, it's not good for me, sometimes I have to lock the door."

Men sometimes demonstrated threatening behaviour, especially when she told them no.

On one occasion five years ago, before she had a shop and was working from home, she said she refused a man sex and he told her: "I know where you live."

Ms Raithby chose not to report any of the incidents to police.

The owner of a Thai massage business in the nearby town of Louth said she had experienced similar issues.

Mae Hill, 41, from Louth Traditional Thai Massage, said repeated inappropriate calls were "annoying".

"But I don't get angry, as I do understand that still a lot of people misunderstand what a Thai massage business is," she said.

In 2018, Ms Hill began using a key-word filter on her booking system. The software detects sexual words and phrases and then blocks the user.

"It reduces a lot of inappropriate phone calls and messages," she said.

Ms Hill said she believed there were misconceptions about Thai massage businesses, partly because some fake massage businesses had been used as a front for prostitution.

"We do everything we can to avoid giving the wrong impression to people, both in person and online," Ms Hill added.

The Association of Biodynamic Massage Therapists represents industry professionals.

Leslie Laine, from the group, said the inappropriate behaviour was "disheartening".

Mr Laine said sexual requests within the massage industry often targeted Thai or Chinese workers.

"I think there's possibly a colonial assumption that they are exotic and permissive and that's the kind of thing they would do as part of their job," he said.

"It is colonial racism."

A spokesperson for Lincolnshire Police said harassment would not be tolerated and urged anyone "who experiences similar behaviour" to contact the force and report it.

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