Abstract

Excerpted From: Hannah Beaulieu, Regulated Victimization: The Rise of Human Trafficking Within the Oregon Massage Industry, 30 Lewis & Clark L. Rev. 479 (2026) (201 Footnotes) (Full Document)

Nestled in one of the most affluent neighborhoods in the State of Oregon, Flora Spa in Lake Oswego operated under the guise of a legitimate massage business until law enforcement discovered in 2023 that the spa was part of a multijurisdictional human-trafficking ring. At least ten women connected to Flora Spa are believed to be victims of human trafficking. Approximately 20 miles away in Newberg, Amber Massage and Lavender Foot Spa were investigated for prostitution and promoting prostitution, leading to the arrest of three individuals, and one spa worker being sent to the hospital for medical care.

Flora Spa, Amber Massage, and Lavender Foot Spa operated as what are commonly referred to as “illicit massage businesses.” An illicit massage business on the surface looks like a legitimate massage spa, but inside, it operates to facilitate commercial sex acts. Illicit massage parlors provide “services” commonly referred to as “rub and tugs” or “happy ending massages.” In 2018, the illicit massage industry was estimated to generate $2.5 billion annually, growing to an estimated $4.5 billion in 2021. As demonstrated with Flora Spa, illicit massage businesses have facilitated organized human trafficking within their storefronts. The illicit massage industry is considered one of the largest and most organized forms of human trafficking to exist today, with approximately 13,000 illicit massage businesses operating as of 2022. The two most common forms of human trafficking--labor trafficking and sex trafficking--converge in the illicit massage industry. While not all illicit massage businesses facilitate human trafficking, nor do all massage businesses offer illicit services, the structure of the industry and the vulnerability of many massage workers allow the industry to facilitate human trafficking in storefront businesses without drawing much attention to their illegal activities.

Human trafficking, a form of modern-day slavery, is a complex criminal act involving the exploitation of vulnerable persons. Article 3(a) of the international framework for combating trafficking--the Palermo Protocol--defines “trafficking in persons” as:

The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.

The illicit massage industry commonly facilitates human trafficking by recruiting vulnerable workers through force, coercion, or fraud to work in massage spas to exploit them to commit acts of prostitution so traffickers may profit.

This form of trafficking continues to be facilitated in Oregon because of ineffective legislation, enforcement, and regulation. Chris Muller-Tabanera, chief strategy officer for The Network, argues that the illicit massage industry in Oregon is growing at “twice the national rate” and suggests that it is caused by “the regulatory environment and lack of successful enforcement across the board [which] has created an environment that traffickers and bosses can take advantage of.” The Oregon State Board of Massage Therapists’ compliance and licensing manager, Jeff Van Laanen, agrees that even though his agency receives complaints about illicit massage businesses, it lacks the law-enforcement power to regulate them, and when he does investigate and sends his evidence to law enforcement, he rarely sees action. This communication gap between regulators and law enforcement plays a large role in the growth of the industry. Further, the workers often targeted for trafficking purposes are usually from East Asia and come to the United States with little English proficiency, funds, or knowledge of the realities of the job they are being trafficked into. Traffickers have learned to exploit these vulnerabilities to keep victims isolated and dependent on them for basic needs.

This Note analyzes major gaps that exist in our national, state, and local legal frameworks which have led to extensive growth of the illicit massage industry, ultimately facilitating the complex crime of human trafficking in Oregon. Part I of this Note will analyze the evolution of human trafficking within the illicit massage industry at the national and state levels. In Part II, it will examine what factors have contributed to the growth of the illicit massage industry. And in Part III, it will explore methods of preventing trafficking and protecting victims.

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If the illicit massage industry continues to grow in Oregon without any resistance, the opportunities to traffic marginalized massage workers will only increase within our communities. As the illicit massage industry continues to grow in Oregon at twice the national rate, the gaps in industry regulation must be addressed to stop these businesses from operating under a guise of legitimacy. Even under the guise of operating as a legitimate business, illicit massage spas have become so prevalent in our communities that entire online forums are dedicated to letting commercial sex buyers rank their favorite spa workers. Deeply rooted in harmful racial stereotyping of Asian women, the demand for illicit spas has created an undeniable market for traffickers to exploit women who face economic, language, cultural, and legal barriers.

Communities must become serious about addressing the systematic, organized harm to marginalized women occurring behind the closed doors of illicit massage spas. Lawmakers need to examine the gaps within existing federal, state, and local laws that allow traffickers to take advantage of industry regulations. Law enforcement must take a victim-centered approach to tackling human trafficking to avoid further harm to victims while holding traffickers accountable. Service providers and public interest lawyers need to understand the underlying cultural and psychological barriers that traffickers use to manipulate victims into believing they are not victims. Community members need to become aware of what illicit massage spas facilitate and how they can take part in slowing the demand for their services.

Any list of recommendations to fight human trafficking cannot be exhaustive. Traffickers are creative and look for new avenues to exploit victims for profit. Even if gaps in law are addressed, even if law enforcement prioritizes prosecuting traffickers, and even if the community demands change, a new form of human trafficking may emerge that is more insidious than trafficking within the massage industry. Just as convict leasing replaced chattel slavery, and Jim Crow laws grew from the Reconstruction Era, new forms of modern-day slavery can grow from complacent reform efforts. If the State of Oregon is going to be serious about human trafficking within the growing illicit massage industry, it must address the issue through a collaborative, movement-building approach that centers around restoring the lives of trafficking victims.

Hannah Beaulieu earned a J.D. from Lewis & Clark Law School in 2026.