Forum shows illegal prostitution is thriving in Melbourne’s suburbs
A sleazy underground forum boasting to be “the internet’s largest sex travel website” has revealed dozens of regular clients naming and rating sex workers at illegal brothels across Melbourne’s suburbs.
South East
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In a vile underground forum grubby brothel regulars name and rate sex workers revealing illegal prostitution is thriving in Melbourne’s suburbs.
Despite recent police and council crackdowns on illegal brothels masquerading as massage parlours, the site shows the sex trade is booming in most Melbourne suburbs.
They are found on busy strips like Chapel St and even in shopping centres, the site reveals.
The site — which bills itself as “the internet’s largest sex travel website” — details and names dozens of illegal brothels.
A Leader investigation found, in its more than 700 pages and tens of thousands of posts, grubby users rank and comment on sexual experiences and name vulnerable workers willing to break the law — among them university students. The forum lists nine illegal brothels in Melbourne’s CBD alone.
Bayside has seven, and there are at least six across the council areas of Frankston, Monash and Stonnington.
Five are listed in Darebin, four in Kingston, and three in Maribyrnong and Yarra.
Knox has four listed, while Maroondah has one.
One lewd post reveals a man who visited a massage parlour on Chapel St in Prahran was offered “services”, which he accepted, in the last 20 minutes of his massage.
“A bit rushed for me, but I was taken by surprise as had gone there for a normal massage,” he posted.
Another post on the forum mocks an ill worker at a Dandenong brothel: “The encounter wasn’t the same. She was covered in sores and really wasn’t looking well. It was either herpes simplex or the clap”.
A third creep boasted on the forum about spending “$40 for a massage and then additional by negotiation” at a shopping centre parlour in Braybrook.
He said one $40 sexual service was provided “towards the end of the massage (which was very good), the second (Indian looking) was more upfront and negotiated before the massage.”
Another post reveals workers are illegally working from apartments after raids at their massage parlours.
“Now they operate in apartments in CBD and Box Hill, advertise in Mandarin on website, only want Chinese customers now after the raids.”
When shown the website by the Leader, Genevieve Gilbert director of not-for-profit organisation Pink Cross, which tackles sexual exploitation, called for tougher laws and regulations.
Ms Gilbert described it as “disgusting and concerning” that women were being exploited in this way.
“Men visiting illegal brothels should stop thinking of women as objects — it’s just so selfish.”
The Australian Adult Entertainment Industry, which manages the interests of the majority of Victoria’s legal brothels, has also warned that unscrupulous managers of unlicensed brothels ply “sex slave” migrant workers and students with drugs then force them to have unprotected sex.
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Victoria Police spokeswoman Cathy Le said police were aware of several online forums where information about illegal sexual work is shared.
“Our number one priority is always the safety of the community. When addressing the issue of illegal brothels, Victoria Police’s objective is to target operators of these premises,” Ms Le said.
She said Victoria Police’s Sex Industry Coordination Unit (SICU) worked closely with local police across the state, councils and other law enforcement and regulation agencies to identify and tackle operators in the illegal brothel industry.
“Police believe there are hundreds of illegal brothels operating in Victoria. This number can fluctuate because premises can be opened and closed with relative ease.”
The Leader has chosen not to name the website or the illegal brothels.