A computer user using the website backpage. Sites like this and others are typically where escorts and massage parlours offer services. Once conducted openly on street corners in Saskatchewan cities, the sex trade has moved increasingly behind closed doors โ and, in many instances, beyond the prying eyes of regulators and police. But more often than staking out the stroll, his unit now patrols the Internet.
Specifically, it monitors online classified sites, which are often used to advertise sex for sale. Some women who advertise their services online prefer to be called escorts, McDonald said. But while titles are important to some, the core business remains the same. As well, more and more establishments offering massage services โ at all hours โ can be seen advertising among adult listings online.
Some escorts still work the circuit. In fact, it expanded in this province with the economy during the period of economic growth preceding the recent slump.
While prostitution is essentially decriminalized, in the s the federal government made communicating for the purpose of prostitution in a public place a crime. For that reason, forces in both cities have efforts ongoing to meet with women in the trade.
Further, after trust is established, women sometimes report their suspicions to police about others they feel are being forced to work in the trade, or underage. For sex workers to become licensed, they must meet with police and provide identifying information, including proof of age, and a criminal record check. Women being fined must provide identification, he said. Kuemper also notes the bylaw allows officers to conduct undercover operations in massage parlours.
