New Las Vegas laws to protect Asian women

A Las Vegas ordinance which regulates the operation of massage parlors in the city is expected to increase protection for Asian women in these establishments.

At the same time, it is expected to help enhance the business climate along Spring Mountain Rd or the so-called Asian corridor, non-profit Bamboo Bridges said.

“Our goal is to decrease the likelihood that women will be exploited in the massage parlors,” the organization’s secretary Kathleen Bergquest said in an interview.

Bamboo Bridges, which pushed for the enactment of the new city ordinance, is an organization that bridges the multi-ethnic and multilingual Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in Las Vegas.

This is by developing collaborations and building awareness of the issues that AAPI women confront.  One of the primary issues that Bamboo Bridges has been battling is human trafficking.

“The federal government estimates that between 14.5 and 17.5 thousand people are trafficked into the US annually. The largest group trafficked is women from Asia,” Bergquist told Asian Journal.

Las Vegas - top destination for human trafficking

“Las Vegas is one of the top destinations in the US for human trafficking.  Asian women are trafficked through the massage establishments in Las Vegas,” she also said.

Bamboo Bridges, in its website, said Las Vegas has been identified as being among the top 17 destination cities for human trafficking.

“(This) makes it crucial that the Asian and Pacific American community be included in long-term strategies that address the issue of human trafficking,” Bamboo Bridges said. Thus, it pushed for the enactment of the city ordinance on massage parlors.

Last December 7, the Las Vegas City Council approved the ordinance that prescribed more stringent regulations on massage parlors.

Mayor Pro Tem Stavros Anthony, who sponsored the new ordinance, said the new rules are expected to make it difficult for illegal prostitution ringleaders to force women into performing sex acts for money.

The new ordinance limits the hours of operation of massage parlors to between 6:00 am and 10:00 pm. It also prescribes health inspections as a condition of doing business in the city.

Tinted glass prohibited

In addition, the ordinance requires that doors of rooms where massages are talking place be unlocked, while tinted glass on these rooms are prohibited. A manager is also required to be present at these facilities at all times.

A similar ordinance, prescribing the same stringent requirements for reflexology clinics in Las Vegas, was also approved by the City Council last Dec. 7.

Earlier, Anthony told the Las Vegas Review Journal that he pushed for the enactment of the ordinance after being frustrated at how easy certain massage parlors can engage in prostitution and human trafficking due to the lack of strict rules.

“These are fronts for prostitution, they are fronts for human trafficking, and there are 30 pages of them in the phone book,” Anthony said in the report. Las Vegas city officials noted some 46 independent massage parlors in the city.

Meanwhile, Bamboo Bridges said the new city ordinance is also expected to improve the business atmosphere on Spring Mountain Rd. where majority of local Asian-owned firms are located.

“The massage parlor ordinances will not only increase protections for women in the massage parlors, but “legitimate” establishments will only add value to surrounding businesses, many of which are located in the Asian corridor around Spring Mountain,” Bergquist said.

Asian-owned firms in Las Vegas make up about 10% of the total number of businesses in the city. It is part of the fastest-growing business groups in the US, the US Census Bureau noted earlier.