Massage Parlours Are
Really Front For
Prostitution
There are more than 100
massage parlours, more
than half located in San
José, that provide
sexual services to
clients taking advantage
of lax municipal codes
and enforcements. Many
advertise in the local
newspapers and do little
to hide what they really
are offering.
The majority of the
"massage" parlours are
located in the downtown
San José area, operating
7 days a week, with
hours from 9am to 9pm.
Many have also now
sprung up in the
suburbs, like Paseo
Colon and Santa Ana and
smaller communities
around the country.
Massage parlours have
now sprung up in places
like Jacó (Puntarenas)
and the Guanacaste
province,
Prices can range from
¢7.000 colones to
¢30.000 or more for an
hour, for sexual
services provided by
women to their gentlemen
clients. There are also
a number of "massage"
parlours that offer
sexual services provided
by men for men.
According to the
Organismo de
Investigación Judicial (OIJ),
the massage parlours
operate under a
"pension" or masajes
terapéuticos" (terapeutic
massages), for which
municipalities issue "patentes"
(licenses), but have few
resources to regularly
inspect the use
permitted.
Francisco Segura,
sub-director of the OIJ,
says that his officials
continually visit
massage parlours and
follow up on their
inspection, but
recognizes that the work
is complex and takes
time to investigate.
The OIJ so far this year
has detained four people
connected to massage
parlours and charged
with "proxenetismo"
(pimping).
In Costa Rica,
prostitution is not
prohibited, but pimping
- living off the avails
of prostituion - is and
is punishable up to 8
years in prison.
Judicial authorities say
that the major massage
massage parlours operate
freely and openly,
blaming the
municipalities for the
lack of control and
inspections.
Responding to the OIJ
call, the mayor of the
Municipalidad de San
José, Johnny Araya, said
he will ask the
Departamento de Patentes
(municipal licenses
department) to inspect
all the massage parlours,
but admits that it will
be difficult since the
municipality has issued
thousands of patentes
for such uses.
The mayor fo the
Municipalidad de Escazú,
Marco Antonio Segura,
added that there are
massage parlours in his
town, but very difficult
to control, saying that
his inspectors have yet
to find anything out of
the ordinary during
their inspections and
have yet to receive a
complaint.
Authorities know what is
going on in the
premises, but without a
complaint and the lack
of hard evidence the
task of closing down a
massage parlour is next
to impossible.
The majority of the
massage parlours operate
under the "pension"
license. A pension
license is for a "short
term" stay hotel that
can rent rooms by the
hour or less, in
contrast to a full hotel
license.
The massage parlours
operating under the
pension license in
effect rent the rooms to
the women and their
clients and what goes on
between two consenting
adults in the room is
not the business of the
operators.
Although, walking into a
massage parlour
"pension" is quite
different from entering
a pension and evident
what the 10 or 20 or
more women known as "antifrionas"
(hostesses), waiting in
a room are selling,
authorities have their
hands tied if the
operator follows the
licensing rules.
Many of the downtown
massage parlours cater
mainly to tourists,
charging from ¢10.000
colones (us$20) for a
half hour and up,
offering clean rooms,
sauna, steam room and
showers. In one
location, on Avenida 3,
the rooms are equipped
with a king sized bed
and a jacuzzi. Others,
charging less, simply
offer a room and the
choice of "hostess" and
frequented mainly by
locals.
No matter the personal
preference, massage
parlours have been
around San José for a
long time and offer
gentlemen a choice in
contrast to the higher
priced services of a
night club that are open
only at night.
Many of the girls
working the massage
parlours are there to
maintain their family or
paying for their
studies. Some only stay
a few months, enough
time to save to pay for
tuition, while others
stay longer, becoming a
regular job with a
better pay than working
as a domestic or store
clerk. |
