Freedom vs.Oppression?

We live in a weird world. In some ways, individuals are more free than ever to make choices. In others, much less.

The US spends billions each year on pot eradication, then semi-legalizes in some places? Liberal places like the Netherlands and Spain make it legal, then it gets less legal as laws get changed again. Marijuana is simple compared to the complexities of the personal services market....

Massage Republic works to do one thing: help people who want to offer services to do so, at no-cost or lower-cost than other methods.

We started with a 'free' option for providers - alongside the upgraded options - and hope to keep it forever. In total, we have generated more than 5 million contact inquiries to independents. That is a lot of people off the streets and a lot less risk for everyone involved.

Our paying customers are only paying 5% of their gross sales to upgrade listings on the site. Massage Republic has been a great help to many freelancers and independent businesses.

We do what we can to fight unfair or criminal practices on-site. We do extra verification in many cases and are very careful with listings where the provider listed could be underage. We have already contributed real cash and time to programs and charities working to help victims of exploitation and trafficking.

Safety First

Common sense means most people working in this industry let other people know where they are going when possible. The problem is this is often not possible.

If you use an Android phone, you might want to consider a new application that has been launched by Google, Trusted Contacts. It looks like they will be launching an iOS version for iPhones soon and you can register to get a notification when it's available on the site.

You can share your location when you want to, for instance when meeting with a client. There is also a feature where someone you have nominated a trusted contact can - if they are worried about you - ask for a location share and will be able to see where your phone was last located if you don't respond within five minutes. 

There are - obviously - some privacy implications, especially as the share happens automatically unless you respond. Make sure you read the instructions!

More sense in 17 mins than several millenia

Wow, this is a supremely enlightened talk. It properly addresses the real issues and explains many things that people do need to understand. The focus on 'rights' and especially sex workers' rights is so important.


The world is changing, every person like Toni Mac who speaks out and every organisation like SWOU makes a massive difference. Each individual who doesn't get arrested is a win. Each individual who can report violence saves a beating or even a death. These are not small wins - each one really matters. Share this talk please.

A big thank you kiss to reviewers

Nothing makes us happier than to see other people happy. Real reviews seem to having a very positive effect on what we can do in terms of quality.

The efforts made by many Massage Republic users to leave reviews is making a difference for everyone. We have received many messages actually pointing this out - many are from people who didn't feel comfortable making a review themselves - but wanted to say thanks.

When we see something like this:

Girl is the same in the pics ....but complete starfish experience...absolutely no interest from her side ....her mission was to finishing as quickly as possible... - SteveDubai

We know this is useful information for other users...

When we see something like this:

I had some additional spare time on my hands so decided to take in one or two more sessions. So, yet another young lady from massagerepublic (has changed my life !! lol) - georgeunited10

We get to know we're doing something right!

We hope to upgrade the review experience and the profile pages for users in the next months, and make it more fun to contribute and share experiences.

Fraud and scams

It has recently been brought to our notice that some people are pretending to be 'us' and trying to trick advertisers into paying for services (or maybe providing them for free?).

Hello! Just want to check something. I got a call from someone pretending to be a photographer from your website and saying that he has to take the pictures for me because you have a new policy . He sounded very strange...
Thank you!

We will never call you to make a request like this. If you ever have a query, please get in touch with us directly.

In the same way, if you ever receive an email which looks suspicious from us please send it to us. Emails are easy to fake and we would like to know about it. We are always concerned about our advertiser's safety, so any information or tips you can provide will always be appreciated.

Fake reviews

If you are doing fake reviews, you do risk getting your account blocked and also any associated accounts blocked. Don't try our patience.

Abuse

Some advertisers are trying to abuse the system to get more coverage. You cannot post from multiple accounts, repost or try and manipulate the system. It doesn't matter if you are a paying customer or not, all accounts will be blocked.

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Thanks to everyone else (the massive majority) who behaves well and continues to make the site a safer place for everyone on it.

Politicians and Hookers

It seems to be some constant theme - the people who complain most vocally about the escort industry also get into the papers about it... This is obviously a self-fulfilling prophecy as a politian caught paying for time (with a hint of sexual sevices) will get into trouble. Unless they are Silvio Berlusconi, which might have meant several re-relections in Italy...

[not to say anyone in the images above, including Sr. Berlusconi would ever be involved in anything to do with this post. In fact, we are 'sure' that those re-elections were purely on merit and based on his performance in office and the policies presented in his manifesto].

Public debate and legislation about the offering of sexual services for money is basically dead, stupid and insane. The problem is the following:

• Some individuals choose to provide their services because it suits them to do so compared to other economic options.
• Some individuals enjoy their profession (and some really enjoy it, just because).
• There are others who offer their services because of real financial hardship, whether from circumstance or addiction. This is a really tough place for them. The only thing we can offer is a safer way of offering services. Society, at this point, is responsible to help with a safety-net or medical assistance with addiction.
• There are individuals (mostly young girls from less-developed countries) which are exploited for this purpose. This is plainly wrong - pretty evil - and we work to make sure they cannot be advertised on the site and provide feedback mechanisms to signal the problem.

The public debate is always about trafficking, people enslaved into prostitution. This is unhelpful and does not address the real problems.

Prohibition is not a solution. Real, effective policies to combat human-slavery, addiction and social exclusion are solutions. Dump the headlines and go to the roots of the problem in society. This is an appeal to any politician or journalist - keep it real; and don't let us find out you did something bad later... Starting with 19 Politicians Who Were Caught with Prostitutes.

Honesty in public debate is a starting point. Freedom of choice is a natural right. 

What do you realy want?

We really value the comments and suggestions we have had from users and advertisers over the last couple of years. Especially when something on the site made you feel like this...

We have always tried to get anything broken fixed pretty quick over time and have done a decent job to make sure that happened.

What we need now are your suggestions. What pisses you off? What do we need to add? What could work better? We are listening and will take every comment into account as we try to improve the site. Send feedback here.