A study shows three-quarters of registered massage therapists in New Brunswick have been sexually assaulted or harassed while on the job.
About one-quarter of RMTs have had such an experience on more than three occasions.
The research was led by the University of New Brunswick and more than 140 RMTs participated.
RMT Tom Peppard says the study came about after concerns from their provincial association.
“We had all as RMTs heard stories about people who had been harassed or assaulted sexually in a treatment setting by a client but we just didn’t know what the scope or the scale of this issue was.”
Peppard says the RMTs who took part often described shocking details about being preyed upon.
Men accounted for nearly 92 per cent of those who committed the harassment or assault, with nearly 40 per cent of them being aged 50 to 55.
Conversely, about 65 per cent of RMTs who were harassed or assaulted were aged 19 to 30.
Especially with new clients, Peppard says there is often a fine line between innocent sexual jokes and what is an attempt to escalate a situation into something worse.
While the vast majority of clients are kind and respectful, Peppard adds a small minority are committing criminal acts and putting RMTs at risk.
