THE Limerick Post has uncovered a large number of prostitutes falsely advertising their services in Limerick as genuine masseurs.
Sex is being sold under the cover of the classifieds section of Limerick’s local newspapers and online bulletin boards by prostitutes across the city.
In the health and fitness section of the classifieds in our own paper recently, Lara, offered a “relaxing Latin full body massage for gentlemen”. When contacted, she promised “full sex for €70” at her base near the People’s Park.
When we phoned Cristal, a transexual who was also advertising services as a masseuse, she revealed that she charged €60 for half an hour, and guaranteed a “happy ending”. Then, when we rang Wendy’s number to see if her advert was genuine, the aforementioned Cristal answered the call, offering the same sexual service on Patrick Street.
Tiffany, who said she was based near Kennedy O’Brien’s, offered her services for €50 for half an hour. When asked if it was just a massage she was offering, she replied, “you will be happy”.
When it was established that prostitutes were using classified advertisements to sell their services under the guise of massage therapy, the adverts were immediately pulled by the Limerick Post.
Publisher William Ryan commented, “We have always had a strict and active policy of removing any ads that we feel are suspicions or that we have had a complaint about. However, it is very hard to judge which ads are legitimate when they are booked, and we have tried to give the benefit of the doubt to the client.”
He appealed to Limerick Post readers to report any suspicious ads that they might have knowledge of being “false or misleading”.
“There are genuine massage therapists that want to promote themselves and we want to continue supporting them,” he said.
Meanwhile, one verified professional masseuse who uses the classified sections of the local newspapers to advertise her business, claimed that ten out of every 100 calls she gets are from men seeking sex.
“When you see adverts offering full body relief that’s exactly what they are selling. Even though I have made it clear it in my ad that I am not selling sex, they still call,” she said.
“It’s not just masseurs, who have this problem. I have friends who are cleaners and they have the same thing with men looking for sex. Just because they are not from here, Irish men presume they are all prostitutes,” she claimed.
The Irish Massage Therapist Association (IMTA) advised genuine massage clients to ensure that their therapist is a member of IMTA or a similar therapeutic association. They also warned clients to avoid calling advertisers who use phrases such as “full body massage”, “relaxing massage” or “stress relief massage”.
According to Doras Luimní, the majority of sexual services in Ireland are advertised on line, via escort websites and via the use of mobile phones. Based on O’Connell Street, the independent non-governmental organisation has a dedicated anti-trafficking office which participates in local and national campaigns against forced prostitution and sex trafficking.
“The advertising of massage services as a means to sexually exploit vulnerable women is recognised nationally. While there are genuine massage services operating in the city, unfortunately those who organise prostitution have discovered that this is a discreet yet completely disingenuous way of making further profits from prostitution,” Doras Luimní anti-trafficking officer Patricia Stapleton told the Limerick Post.
As part of its in-house anti-trafficking service, Doras Luimní works directly with women exiting prostitution, with victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation and with women who wish to exit but are forced to remain in prostitution owing to their immigration status and ineligibility for social welfare entitlement.
The migrant rights organisation recognise the extreme vulnerability of all women in the prostitution industry, irrespective of whether they are a victim of trafficking or not.
Doras Luimní made presentations to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality and Defence in January 2013 in favour of the Nordic model, based on its direct contact of women affected by prostitution and sex trafficking in the Mid West region. The Justice Committee supported this approach unanimously in June 2013. Among their recommendations was the criminalisation of the buyers of sex with the accompanying decriminalisation of the sellers.
“The prostitution ‘industry’ in Limerick is highly organised and very profitable for the criminals who run it. We would caution people as to the genuine nature of the services being offered, and we would urge people to report to Gardaí any suspicious activities or encounters they may have with vulnerable people when they access these services,” Ms Stapleton advised.
