CALL TO END SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST CANADIAN MASSAGE THERAPISTS
The Issue
To:
The Canadian Massage Therapist Association (CMTA), The Federation of Massage Therapy Regulatory Authorities of Canada (FOMTRAC) and all the provincial associations listed below.
August is Respect RMTs month. A month dedicated to the awareness of sexual violence in the practices of massage therapists. The RMT Sexual Support Society has been sharing anonymous stories of massage therapist's experiences of sexual violence- mine included. My experience was also quoted in the CMTA's national survey,
"...I asked him how he knew where I lived, and that's when he admitted to looking me and my family up on Facebook and finding out where I lived. I ended the treatment, he grabbed my hips, shoved his nose into my crotch and sniffed. Then said "that's all I've wanted since day one"
We, the frontline massage therapists, are raising our concerns regarding the alarming rates of sexual violence massage therapists are enduring in their practices across Canada and insisting our associations, regulators and educational institutions prioritize efforts to lower the rates of sexual violence within the industry.
According to the recent surveys that have surfaced among Canadian massage therapists*, 80% of massage therapists experience sexual harassment and 22% experience sexual assault in their practices. Colleges (5.6%) and Associations (5%) were least likely to be contacted after an incident of sexual violence a massage therapist experienced. Massage therapists are not discharging their abusive patients from their practice because of ambiguous patient behaviours (66%), fear of patient push back (34%), thought they wouldn’t be taken seriously (28%), and concerns with meeting regulatory requirements (28%). Massage therapists have reported in these surveys that they received insufficient training (69%) on how to navigate sexual violence they experience. The most shocking statistic is that 95% of massage therapists did not contact law enforcement.
These recent sexual violence surveys would all suggest this is not a problem of the past. A massage therapist’s safety is a direct prerequisite for patient safety as we cannot provide effective, ethical or consistent care if we feel physically and/or psychologically threatened or experience harm in our practices.
As we have raised our concerns and highlighted an ugly reality of our work we want to see the following from our leadership:
- A united front with associations, regulators and educational institutions regarding this topic.
- Consistent public facing campaigns that remind and educate the public that massage therapy is a musculoskeletal healthcare service and sexualized behaviours are never appropriate in the clinical spaces of massage therapists
- Education in navigating escalating patient behaviours, de-escalating and defensive strategies to prepare massage therapists and help combat sexual violence that may occur in their practices.
- Mental health resources to support RMTs when they experience sexual violence
- Resources that empower massage therapists to contact law enforcement like:
o Understanding their professional responsibilities within their respective regulatory authority
o Understanding what information they need to provide law enforcement with
o What to expect when interacting with law enforcement
o When they need to reach out to law enforcement
- Establishing, building, and maintaining relationships with law enforcement so massage therapists are believed and taken seriously.
- Standardizing sexual transference, ambiguous patient behaviour, and sexual boundary management education in massage therapy education programs that reflect the gender, ethnic and racial diversity of the profession.
- Appoint community leaders or ambassadors to help reduce reporting barriers, create support groups and document sexual violence that occurs so data can be used to develop, inform and evolve education and resources.
The frontline clinicians of the massage therapy industry have been silently absorbing the harm of sexual violence for too long. Digital resources are not enough to support us in our practices. As stakeholders in the industry, we are insisting our leadership supports us in this issue so we can continue to focus on clinical excellence and care for the public. Our eyes are on the massage therapy leadership to create and uphold continued advocacy with the goal of lowering the alarming rates of sexual violence massage therapists continue to experience in their practices.
We are looking forward to your response and participation in cultural change regarding the sexual violence we experience.
Sincerely,
The Frontline Professionals of the Massage Therapy Profession & concerned members of the public.
*SURVEYS:
CMTA Sexual Violence Survey
Fédération québécoise des massothérapeutes agréés Survey
Sexual Harassment of Massage Therapists by their Clients- New Brunswick
PROVINCAL DIRECTORY (Please send to your provincial representation and our federal leadership CMTA and FOMTRAC)
Canadian Massage Therapist Association (CMTA) : info@crmta.ca
Federation of Massage Therapy regulatory Authorities of Canada (FOMTRAC): fomtraced@gmail.com
Canadian Massage and manual osteopathic therapists association (CMMOTA): info@cmmota.com
Massage Therapist Association of Alberta (MTAA): Submit a contact us form here:
Natural Health Practitioners of Canada (NHPC) growingtogether@nhpcanada.org
Registered Massage Therapy Association of British Columbia (RMTBC): gordon@rmtbc.ca
College of Complimentary Healthcare Professionals of British Columbia (CCHPBC): info@cchpbc.ca
Massage Therapist Association of Saskatchewan (MTAS): t.fentiman@saskmassagetherapy.com
Massage Therapy Association of Manitoba (MTAM): tweid@mtam.mb.ca
Remedial Massage Therapists Society of Manitoba (RMTSMB): info@rmtsmb.com
Registered Massage Therapy Association of Ontario (RMTAO): kat@rmtao.com
College of Massage Therapists of Ontario (CMTO): officeofregistrar@cmto.com
Réseau des massothérapeutes professionnels du Québec (RMPQ): info@rmpq.ca
Fédération québécoise des massothérapeutes (FQM): administration@fqm.qc.ca
Association des massothérapeutes du Quebec (RMQ): info@collectifsante.ca
College of Massage Therapists of New Brunswick (CMTNB): adminassistant@cmtnb.ca
Association of New Brunswick Massage Therapists (ANBMT): anbmt@anbmt.ca
Prince Edward Island Massage Therapy Association: (PEIMTA): info@peimta.com
College of Massage Therapists of Prince Edward Island (CMTPEI): Submit a contact us form here: https://www.cmtpei.ca/contact-us
Massage Therapist Association of Nova Scotia (MTANS): info@mtans.ca
College of Massage Therapists of Newfoundland & Labrador (CMTNL): registrar@cmtnl.ca
Newfoundland &Labrador Massage Therapists’ Association (NLMTA): info@nlmta.ca
5,747
The Issue
To:
The Canadian Massage Therapist Association (CMTA), The Federation of Massage Therapy Regulatory Authorities of Canada (FOMTRAC) and all the provincial associations listed below.
August is Respect RMTs month. A month dedicated to the awareness of sexual violence in the practices of massage therapists. The RMT Sexual Support Society has been sharing anonymous stories of massage therapist's experiences of sexual violence- mine included. My experience was also quoted in the CMTA's national survey,
"...I asked him how he knew where I lived, and that's when he admitted to looking me and my family up on Facebook and finding out where I lived. I ended the treatment, he grabbed my hips, shoved his nose into my crotch and sniffed. Then said "that's all I've wanted since day one"
We, the frontline massage therapists, are raising our concerns regarding the alarming rates of sexual violence massage therapists are enduring in their practices across Canada and insisting our associations, regulators and educational institutions prioritize efforts to lower the rates of sexual violence within the industry.
According to the recent surveys that have surfaced among Canadian massage therapists*, 80% of massage therapists experience sexual harassment and 22% experience sexual assault in their practices. Colleges (5.6%) and Associations (5%) were least likely to be contacted after an incident of sexual violence a massage therapist experienced. Massage therapists are not discharging their abusive patients from their practice because of ambiguous patient behaviours (66%), fear of patient push back (34%), thought they wouldn’t be taken seriously (28%), and concerns with meeting regulatory requirements (28%). Massage therapists have reported in these surveys that they received insufficient training (69%) on how to navigate sexual violence they experience. The most shocking statistic is that 95% of massage therapists did not contact law enforcement.
These recent sexual violence surveys would all suggest this is not a problem of the past. A massage therapist’s safety is a direct prerequisite for patient safety as we cannot provide effective, ethical or consistent care if we feel physically and/or psychologically threatened or experience harm in our practices.
As we have raised our concerns and highlighted an ugly reality of our work we want to see the following from our leadership:
- A united front with associations, regulators and educational institutions regarding this topic.
- Consistent public facing campaigns that remind and educate the public that massage therapy is a musculoskeletal healthcare service and sexualized behaviours are never appropriate in the clinical spaces of massage therapists
- Education in navigating escalating patient behaviours, de-escalating and defensive strategies to prepare massage therapists and help combat sexual violence that may occur in their practices.
- Mental health resources to support RMTs when they experience sexual violence
- Resources that empower massage therapists to contact law enforcement like:
o Understanding their professional responsibilities within their respective regulatory authority
o Understanding what information they need to provide law enforcement with
o What to expect when interacting with law enforcement
o When they need to reach out to law enforcement
- Establishing, building, and maintaining relationships with law enforcement so massage therapists are believed and taken seriously.
- Standardizing sexual transference, ambiguous patient behaviour, and sexual boundary management education in massage therapy education programs that reflect the gender, ethnic and racial diversity of the profession.
- Appoint community leaders or ambassadors to help reduce reporting barriers, create support groups and document sexual violence that occurs so data can be used to develop, inform and evolve education and resources.
The frontline clinicians of the massage therapy industry have been silently absorbing the harm of sexual violence for too long. Digital resources are not enough to support us in our practices. As stakeholders in the industry, we are insisting our leadership supports us in this issue so we can continue to focus on clinical excellence and care for the public. Our eyes are on the massage therapy leadership to create and uphold continued advocacy with the goal of lowering the alarming rates of sexual violence massage therapists continue to experience in their practices.
We are looking forward to your response and participation in cultural change regarding the sexual violence we experience.
Sincerely,
The Frontline Professionals of the Massage Therapy Profession & concerned members of the public.
*SURVEYS:
CMTA Sexual Violence Survey
Fédération québécoise des massothérapeutes agréés Survey
Sexual Harassment of Massage Therapists by their Clients- New Brunswick
PROVINCAL DIRECTORY (Please send to your provincial representation and our federal leadership CMTA and FOMTRAC)
Canadian Massage Therapist Association (CMTA) : info@crmta.ca
Federation of Massage Therapy regulatory Authorities of Canada (FOMTRAC): fomtraced@gmail.com
Canadian Massage and manual osteopathic therapists association (CMMOTA): info@cmmota.com
Massage Therapist Association of Alberta (MTAA): Submit a contact us form here:
Natural Health Practitioners of Canada (NHPC) growingtogether@nhpcanada.org
Registered Massage Therapy Association of British Columbia (RMTBC): gordon@rmtbc.ca
College of Complimentary Healthcare Professionals of British Columbia (CCHPBC): info@cchpbc.ca
Massage Therapist Association of Saskatchewan (MTAS): t.fentiman@saskmassagetherapy.com
Massage Therapy Association of Manitoba (MTAM): tweid@mtam.mb.ca
Remedial Massage Therapists Society of Manitoba (RMTSMB): info@rmtsmb.com
Registered Massage Therapy Association of Ontario (RMTAO): kat@rmtao.com
College of Massage Therapists of Ontario (CMTO): officeofregistrar@cmto.com
Réseau des massothérapeutes professionnels du Québec (RMPQ): info@rmpq.ca
Fédération québécoise des massothérapeutes (FQM): administration@fqm.qc.ca
Association des massothérapeutes du Quebec (RMQ): info@collectifsante.ca
College of Massage Therapists of New Brunswick (CMTNB): adminassistant@cmtnb.ca
Association of New Brunswick Massage Therapists (ANBMT): anbmt@anbmt.ca
Prince Edward Island Massage Therapy Association: (PEIMTA): info@peimta.com
College of Massage Therapists of Prince Edward Island (CMTPEI): Submit a contact us form here: https://www.cmtpei.ca/contact-us
Massage Therapist Association of Nova Scotia (MTANS): info@mtans.ca
College of Massage Therapists of Newfoundland & Labrador (CMTNL): registrar@cmtnl.ca
Newfoundland &Labrador Massage Therapists’ Association (NLMTA): info@nlmta.ca
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Petition created on August 26, 2026