ABOUT US
Our mission is to empower Thai women in Sweden, focusing on women working in Thai massage.
We are raising the standards of Thai massage businesses in Sweden. Our network of certified salons makes it easy for customers to find a salon they can trust .
Who are we?
Nuad Thai Nordic is a network of certified Thai massage salons which adhere to Sweden’s laws and regulations and are owned by qualified masseurs. The network is made up of independent salons that have met these standards and successfully completed ThaiWISE’s training.
Nuad Thai Nordic is an initiative of ThaiWISE – Hela Människan i Malmö, a not-for-profit organisation which aims to reduce the social vulnerability and exploitation of Thai women in Sweden. Nuad Thai Nordic focuses specifically on women working in the Thai massage industry.
What we do
We certifiy salons that are run professionally by qualified Thai masseurs. Our certification makes it easy for customers to make an ethically-sound choice.
In order to become a certified member of the Nuad Thai Nordic network:
- Businesses are thoroughly inspected to ensure that they adhere to the required standards for a massage salon.
- We conduct a background check to ensure that the salon owner does not have a criminal record.
- Salon owners complete a series of courses on business management as well as an introduction to Swedish society.
- We check the owner’s qualifications in massage.
By certifying Thai massage salons that apply ethical standards and follow Swedish laws, we are making it easy for discerning customers to make an ethical choice, and thereby inspiring other salon owners in the industry to adopt higher standards.
Background
There are over 1,000 Thai massage salons in Sweden, employing around 3,000 female workers. Regrettably, a significant number of these establishments are not run professionally or ethically, which has led to a tarnished reputation for the Thai massage industry.
In a 2019 study by Noomi – Hela Människan i Malmö, findings revealed that 80% of Swedish Thai massage salons operate illegally or exploit their female workforce. With limited knowledge of their rights and responsibilities in Sweden, many Thai women have been victims of exploitative working conditions in massage businesses. In addition to being underpaid, they have lacked knowledge of their rights as employees. They have also not been aware of the services offered by authorities in Sweden and thus not been aware of the alternatives available to them.
At the same time, those massage businesses that have tried to run their businesses in a legal and ethical manner have not received enough recognition. Some have even faced criticism from industry peers for running their businesses differently.
In its study of the industry, Noomi – Hela Människan i Malmö found that many people working in the Thai massage industry want to change the way they do business, but they do not know how to go about it.
To address this, Hela Människan i Malmö created ThaiWISE and collaborated with the Malmö Municipality, to initiate the pilot Certification Programme for Ethical Thai Massage.
Partners
ThaiWISE – Hela Människan i Malmö and its initiative Nuad Thai Nordic are funded by the Gender Equality Agency (Jämställdhetsmyndigheten), Malmö Munincipality (Malmö Stad), the Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen), and the Royal Thai Embassy in Stockholm.
Malmö Stad has been a partner in the program since 2019 through a formalized collaboration agreement (Idéburet offentligt partnerskap (IOP). The Environmental Department of Malmö Munincipality (Miljöförvaltningen), which has the mandate to inspect massage salons in Malmö, plays an important role in our certification programme.
We have the support of several of the most popular female Thai influencers in Sweden. These women lead some of our activities and promote our work to their followers. Their profiles can be found at this link: www-thaiwise-se.translate.goog/about-thaiwise/our-colleagues
NyföretagarCentrum Öresund is a pool of experts on business incubation. They provide free technical support to start-up entrepreneurs in more than 200 municipalities throughout Sweden. LEVEL in Malmö is an international business incubator that provides business coaching. In this project, ThaiWISE collaborates with both NyföretagarCentrum Öresund and LEVEL to guide and support the owners and and managers of Thai massage salons.
