A Thai masseuse in Connemara has announced she will no longer accept male clients after experiencing constant harassment.
Yosita Fitzpatrick told the Irish Daily Mail she had been shocked by the volume of the inappropriate inquiries and had been forced to report some of them to the Gardaí.
Ms Fitzpatrick said it had been a “difficult decision”, as men accounted for 40% of her clientele, but that she could “no longer accept what has been happening”.
On The Claire Byrne Show, Immigrant Council of Ireland spokesperson Teresa Buczkowska said she has heard similar stories of harassment “so many times”.
“It seems that there is a perception in the society that migrant women are here to offer sexual services,” she explained.
“No matter what the services sector is, men feel entitled to approach women and proposition them.”
Ms Buczkowska continued that harassment occurs to migrant women in the most ordinary of situations.
“A friend of mine who decided to subsidise her family income and advertise ironing services, she was propositioned by men who thought that this might be a code for something else,” Ms Buczkowska recalled.
“Myself, around 10 years ago, it was Friday, I just finished work and a friend texted me to meet her out for a drink.
“So, we went straight from work and we were speaking Polish; then Irishmen came up to us and asked how much would we want for sexual services? So insulting.”
Ms Buczkowska recalled that she felt “so offended” and responded by telling him to “f off”.
'Terrifying stories'
She added that while women who work in massage “may be more exposed and vulnerable” than others, the Migrant Council is especially concerned by the experiences of au pairs as well.
Recent research led to young women contacting them with “countless” stories of harassment by the men whose children they were looking after.
“They were either propositioned or men were literally climbing to the bed when they were sleeping,” Ms Buczkowska recalled.
“So, these are very terrifying stories for those [women] because usually those are young girls and they might not be able to speak very good English.”
For things to change for migrant women, Ms Buczkowska said society as a whole must change.
“It's about educating that no man has a right to women's body,” she argued.
“And this is our choice; propositions are something that's a part of sexual harassment.
“People don't think that asking for sexual services is part of harassment.”
Main image: Members of Gardaí on patrol in Dublin. Picture by: Leah Farrell/© RollingNews.ie
