When Workplace Safety Isn’t Treated as Workplace Safety: Sexual Violence, Labour Protections, and the Reality for RMTs in BC.
When Workplace Safety Isn’t Treated as Workplace Safety:
Sexual Violence, Labour Protections, and the Reality for RMTs in BC
In recent months, colleagues in our profession have shared difficult and deeply concerning experiences, stories of sexual harassment, assault, and navigating those situations with little to no support. These are not easy conversations to have, but they’re necessary.
What’s missing from the discussion is this:
Sexual violence in massage therapy settings is not only a patient behaviour issue, it is also a workplace safety issue.
And more importantly, it is shaped by how our work is structured.
The Part We’re Not Talking About
In many healthcare environments, workplace violence, whether physical, verbal, or sexual, is addressed through established systems:
Clear reporting protocols
Employer responsibility for safety
Defined processes for managing unsafe patients
Protections for workers who speak up
But many RMTs in BC don’t actually have access to these protections in a meaningful way.
Why? Because of how we are classified.
Misclassification and the Gap in Protection
A large portion of RMTs are labelled as independent contractors, while working in environments that function much more like traditional employment.
This creates a gap.
On paper:
The clinic is not the employer
The therapist is “self-employed”
In practice:
The clinic often controls key aspects of the work environment
The therapist does not have full autonomy over policies, systems, or safety procedures
And in that gap, something important is lost, clear responsibility for workplace safety.
What That Looks Like in Real Life
When there is no clear structure or accountability:
Reporting an incident becomes unclear or informal
Responsibility for handling unsafe patients is inconsistent
Therapists may feel pressure to continue treating despite red flags
There is little protection from retaliation or loss of income
Support after an incident may be limited or nonexistent
This doesn’t just feel difficult, it changes behaviour.
Therapists may:
Second-guess their instincts
Avoid reporting
Tolerate situations that should never be tolerated
Not because they lack judgment, but because the system does not support safer choices.
This Is a Workplace Safety Issue
In any other setting, repeated exposure to boundary violations or unsafe client behaviour would be recognized as a workplace safety concern.
But in massage therapy, it is often individualized:
“That was a difficult patient”
“You have to manage those situations”
“That’s part of the job”
It shouldn’t be.
When workplace structures do not support safety, risk increases. Not randomly, very but predictably.
Why This Matters for All of Us
This is not about isolated cases. It is not limited to one type of therapist or one type of clinic.
It is about:
How responsibility is assigned
How safety is managed
And whether therapists have meaningful support when something goes wrong
When those systems are unclear or absent, the burden shifts entirely onto the individual therapist.
And that is not a sustainable or safe model.
Moving Forward
If we want to meaningfully address safety in our profession, we need to look beyond individual incidents and examine the structures around them.
That includes:
Clarity in employment classification
Defined responsibility for workplace safety
Standardized reporting and response processes
Protection for therapists who raise concerns
These are not abstract policy ideas.
They are the foundation of safe working environments.
A Conversation Worth Having
This is a complex topic, and there are many perspectives within the profession.
But avoiding the connection between workplace safety and labour structure does not protect us—it limits our ability to improve. If you’ve had experiences, thoughts, or concerns about this, you’re not alone. And this is a conversation worth continuing.