Lewis & Clark Law Review
First Page
479
Abstract
Illicit massage businesses are massage spas that appear to operate as legitimate businesses but facilitate commercial sex acts behind closed doors. Recent law enforcement investigations in Oregon have revealed that some illicit massage businesses have facilitated the human trafficking of multiple victims. The illicit massage industry has steadily grown across the country but has especially boomed in recent years in Oregon. This Note investigates how the illicit massage industry has evolved to be so prevalent in our communities and what factors have contributed to the growth. It goes on to recommend ways to protect victims, to prevent further harm, and to prosecute effectively. Factors such as gaps in state and local legislation and regulations, racial stereotyping, poor immigration protections, corporate shields, and unregulated online forums have served to facilitate human trafficking in the massage industry in Oregon. Filling gaps in Oregon’s laws and effectively using the laws we already have will make it more difficult for illicit massage businesses to operate. Taking a victims’ rights-centered approach to immigration and prosecution will protect trafficking victims while preventing traffickers from causing further harm.
Recommended Citation
Hannah Beaulieu,
Regulated Victimization: The Rise of Human Trafficking Within the Oregon Massage Industry,
30
Lewis & Clark L. Rev.
479
(2026).
Available at:
https://lawcommons.lclark.edu/lclr/vol30/iss2/8
Included in
Criminal Law Commons, Human Rights Law Commons, Immigration Law Commons, Law and Gender Commons, State and Local Government Law Commons