A new law in Sacramento aims to crack down on human sex trafficking, focused on illegitimate massage parlors.
Earlier this week, the Sacramento City Council unanimously passed a measure requiring special business permits for massage businesses, and helping women forced into veiled prostitution rather than criminalizing them. The new ordinance allows city inspections, bans living at the business site and requires the lobby be visible from the street. This decision comes as the nation is seeing a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, capitalized by attacks at three massage parlors in Georgia, killing six women of Asian decent.
If a business is found to engage in sexual acts or human trafficking, it will be shut down and unable to re-open for five years. The ordinance also includes that businesses shut down due to this ordinance cannot have another massage spa replace the location for a five-year period as well.