Few incidents of sexual assault or harassment against registered massage therapists in New Brunswick are ever reported to police.
That’s why RMTs are hoping to change that with some sort of basic reporting system.
A recent study found about 75 per cent of massage therapists have experienced sexual assault or harassment on the job.
RMT Tom Peppard, the lead investigator of the study, also found many in the industry often feel unsafe at work.
“Not so much that they fear violent physical assault. But they fear just a very unpleasant conflictual interaction with a client who is going to push the line too far and request a sexual favour or expose themselves,” he said.
Peppard says RMTs receive the basics to deal with problem situations.
But he adds the study clearly shows more training is needed to equip them with the right response and to recognize when a treatment session is going downhill.
