Asian Women Working in Massage Parlors in New York City and Los Angeles County, 2014-2016 (ICPSR 39387)
Version Date: Jul 28, 2025 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
John J. Chin, City University of New York. Hunter College;
Lois M. Takahashi, University of Southern California
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR39387.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
Media coverage has highlighted raids, mass arrests, and undercover stings of illicit massage parlors in United States cities and suburbs. This study defines "illicit," as a sub-set of massage parlors that purport to operate as legal businesses but where sexual services are illegally bought and sold. Although some media accounts have highlighted linkages between illicit massage parlors, human trafficking, and the fact that many of the workers are Asian immigrant women, the daily experiences of workers in illicit massage parlors are rarely reported from their own perspectives. To fill this gap in knowledge, researchers interviewed 116 Chinese and Korean women who reported that they had provided sexual services in a massage parlor setting in New York City or Los Angeles County. This data collection includes anonymized responses from these women about their demographic background, path to working in massage parlors, working conditions, social networks, sexual health and access to healthcare, victimization by clients and managers, and trust in law enforcement.
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Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
Smallest Geographic Unit View help for Smallest Geographic Unit
Neighborhood
Restrictions View help for Restrictions
These data may not be used for any purpose other than statistical reporting and analysis. Use of these data to learn the identity of any person or establishment is strictly prohibited. To protect respondent privacy, this data collection is restricted from general dissemination. To obtain this file, researchers must agree to the terms and conditions of a Restricted Data Use Agreement in accordance with existing ICPSR servicing policies.
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Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection
Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of Asian immigrant women working in illicit massage parlors. Researchers aimed to add to a limited body of existing research by answering the following questions:
Study Design View help for Study Design
A sample of 116 Chinese and Korean massage parlor workers participated in 60 to 90-minute interviews about their experiences. Interviews were conducted by trained bilingual interviewers in Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese) and Korean, and all participants were compensated with a $100 cash incentive.
Although the original study design called for the audio recording of each interview, most participants declined to be recorded. As a result, interview data is based on notes taken by the interviewers, not direct quotes from participants.
Sample View help for Sample
Researchers recruited participants using convenience sampling through ads in ethnic newspapers, online ads, direct recruitment at massage parlors, referrals from social service providers, and recruitment at courthouses.
Time Method View help for Time Method
Universe View help for Universe
Chinese and Korean adult women who provided sexual services in a massage parlor setting in Los Angeles County or New York City on at least one occasion in the past.
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
Mode of Data Collection View help for Mode of Data Collection
Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables
This study includes 168 variables documenting the lives and experiences of the participants. Demographic variables include age, race/ethnicity, languages spoken, relationship status, whether the participant has children, living situation, and place of birth. Survey variables about lived experiences include questions about employment, provision of sexual services, use and availability of protection (condoms, etc.), understanding of HIV risks, history of sexually transmitted diseases or infections, support from managers, and coercion by managers and/or clients.
HideOriginal Release Date View help for Original Release Date
2025-07-28
Version History View help for Version History
2025-07-28 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Created variable labels and/or value labels.
- Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
Notes
The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.
One or more files in this data collection have special restrictions. Restricted data files are not available for direct download from the website; click on the Restricted Data button to learn more.