A massage therapist has been recommended to undergo mentoring and training as well as make a written apology to two of three women who accused him of inappropriate behaviour.
Warning: This report includes sensitive details some readers may find distressing. Helplines are included at the end of the article.
The Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) said separate complaints included failing to stop the massage after repeated requests to do so due to pain and discomfort; making racist and inappropriate comments, including about a client’s weight; and engaging in explicit sexual conversations.
Three women who attended sessions with the massage therapist in 2022 reported, “feeling discomfort or a lack of safety because of the therapist’s actions”, a HDC report said.
The HDC pointed out the therapist was not a member of Massage Aotearoa New Zealand but his website claimed he was qualified. “By holding himself out to be a therapist and providing services he is required to meet the standards of a professional massage therapist.”
The first complainant had a massage on April 29, 2022. She said she felt “fine” at first but the session ended with her feeling vulnerable and uncomfortable with a man who would “[not] stop touching/hurting [her] no matter how many times [she] asked him to stop”.
“My wording (asked maybe five to 10 times) was ‘can I take a break?’, ‘Can I have a minute please?’, ‘Could I have a moment?’, ‘I think I need to stop now’, ‘to be honest, I’m struggling’. It was very painful so I also asked if he could go lighter a few times, he refused, said that it would tickle otherwise.”
She added he would “vaguely” respond to other comments but requests to stop the massage were ignored.
The massage therapist responded to the HDC’s request for comment on the complaint and said, “this is not my style at all”.
“Client comfort is paramount, and they are [all] advised that some discomfort may be involved but that they are completely in charge of this and… the [client] is repeatedly asked regarding pressure… to say that I refused here is pure imagination.”
The second complainant visited the massage therapist’s clinic on July 26, 2022. During the session, she alleged the therapist made “racist and inappropriate comments”.
According to the HDC report, the client alleged the conversation included comments about the effectiveness of masks, racist views on Māori and “women and sex, and his religious beliefs”.
She also alleged the session lasted 30 minutes longer than the booked time-frame but she felt unable to leave as she was “lying on the massage table with no clothing on”.
“I felt intimidated by his conversation and unsafe as a result,” she told the HDC.
In response to this accusation, the massage therapist said: “[N]ot naked. Some females present without a bra, but generally not new [clients], they are told they are welcome to leave the bra on but we will undo it at the back so oil is not on their clothing. All clients wear underwear.”
A third complaint came after an appointment on October 30, 2022 from a separate client. After the session, the client alleged the massage therapist said she needed to lose weight, and she could have her “body altered to surgically be taller” as she was short, the HDC said.
The complainant said the conversation also turned into an “inappropriate” and “one-sided” conversation “all about sex”.
She alleged the massage therapist spoke in sexually explicit, making her “incredibly uncomfortable” due to her personal history.
“I froze and was unable to speak out at the time.”
The second complainant said her session also lasted 30 minutes longer than it was supposed to, while the massage therapist said sessions generally last for one hour, but “with conversation in the atrium area this may have given the feeling of lasting longer”.
The New Zealand Police told the HDC the massage therapist was given a verbal warning, after receiving a report about his behaviour from the client.
Findings and recommendations
The HDC made several attempts to contact the massage therapist regarding the complaints, but found his “failure to engage” with the office adequately to “solve the complaints” had “unnecessarily delayed those consumers’ rights to have their complaints investigated efficiently”.
As he continued to work as a massage therapist outside of his clinic, the HDC said it believed “there is public interest in his accountability for his failures”.
It recommended he provided a written apology to two of the complainants for the failings identified in its report; attend training on therapeutic communication and ethics and professional boundaries; review his obligations as a healthcare provider; complete the HDC online module on complaints; consider becoming a member of Massage NZ; and receive mentoring from a member of Massage NZ for a 12-month period, with a focus on professional boundaries and listening skills.
