A not-so relaxing massage: 'Definite contact with my vulva'

Mia* felt uncomfortable when she felt the fingers of her male masseuse glide under her bathers.

She had been gifted a full-body massage at a well-known spa business but had never had such a massage and did not know what to expect.

The second and third time his fingers went under the fabric, she felt them touch her labia majora.

It was a quick and swift movement that was perhaps a part of the massage stroke, or perhaps not.

Mia said it was a brief couple of moments in an hour-long session but instead of feeling relaxed at the end, she left confused.

It could have been accidental but looking back Mia said she knows that it was not.

"There was definite contact with my vulva that was not expected as part of a massage, and not wanted," she said.

Health complaints alleging sexual misconduct by massage therapists across Australia are increasingly being spoken about.

Locally, a male masseuse faced court in Launceston for indecently assaulting a woman during a massage, while a male employee at a massage centre in Hobart was found guilty of forcefully moving her hand to his penis.

In New South Wales a massage therapist recently plead guilty to 15 counts of sexual touching and indecent assault against various female clients, including children.

In Canberra six women came forward against a therapist alleging misconduct, while multiple examples are popping up across Victoria.

Tasmania's Health Complaints Commissioner Richard Connock received a complaint against a Launceston massage therapist in 2022/2023, which was referred to Tasmania Police.

In his latest annual report, Mr Connock said punitive responses prompted by massage complaints was on the rise.

"Health complaints entities that have adopted a Code of Conduct report high levels of regulatory action in regard to services provided by massage therapists," he said.

Mia, who was in her early twenties at the time of her incident, said her mind went into overdrive after the touching but as she questioned what had just occurred, the massage continued.

She said at a subconscious level she knew it was wrong but did not speak up.

"I was young and didn't have the voice, or the words, back then to say that it did not feel right," Mia said.

"When the massage was over he asked if I had liked it, and I remember saying, 'yes, it was great, thanks', or something like that, and he responded 'I thought you did'."

Now in her thirties, Mia said that there was something in this last exchange that helped her confirm that the incident was inappropriate.

"In that moment it felt like he was scanning the situation to see if he had gotten away with it," she said.

"To see if I was going to challenge and say anything."

Tasmania's Sexual Assault Support Service chief executive Sandi Doherty said massage sexual assault presented in different ways across the sector.

"It is certainly something that we see amongst our clientele."

Ms Doherty said it was the responsibility of the massage therapist, or any other health worker, to ensure consent through open communication.

"There isn't any specific evidence to show massage therapists are more likely to perpetrate sexual violence than any other cohort, but their clientele are partially dressed and particularly vulnerable," she said.

"It is absolutely paramount that everybody in those circumstances, whether they are massage therapists or other health professionals, is very conscious of the concept of consent in the broader sense of that word."