Selling Sex in Honolulu: Unlicensed Massage Parlors Lack Enforcement Scrutiny

Rj Brown - Civil Beat

Editor's Note: This article is part of Civil Beat's ongoing coverage of prostitution and human trafficking in Honolulu. Read our related coverage:

• Selling Sex in Honolulu: Police Focus Prostitution Arrests on Women, Not Men
• Selling Sex in Honolulu: Prostitution Busts for Men Turn Up Mostly Locals, Few Tourists

At least eight massage parlors in Honolulu have no record of a license to practice, as is required by law, Civil Beat has found.

Civil Beat looked into the licensing of massage parlors because law enforcement officials say the establishments are sometimes used as fronts for prostitution and can be linked to human trafficking.

In our investigation, we went through the phone book and performed Google searches for "Massage Honolulu," "Full body massage Honolulu," "Oriental massage Honolulu," to find establishments.

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