From wellness to red-light economy

The rapid expansion of spa and massage centers in Nepalgunj, a key India–Nepal border town, has generated acute concern about their role in an emerging clandestine sex economy. This study examines how spa establishments in Nepalgunj operate as hybrid spaces that combine formally registered wellness businesses with covert sexual transactions, and how these arrangements are shaped by cross-border mobility, gendered labor markets, and structural risk environments. Drawing on qualitative fieldwork conducted between January and March 2025, the study is based on field observations in 50 spas, semi-structured interviews with 50 workers and 20 owners/managers, and thematic analysis of narratives. Findings reveal that spa centers in Nepalgunj overwhelmingly function as fronts for sexual services. Workers, predominantly young girls aged 16–26, reported that sexual services were routinely offered in 92% of establishments, at standardized price points that generated estimated daily revenues of NPR 30,000–60,000 per spa. Approximately 90% of clients were Indian nationals, reflecting how the open Indo–Nepal border, combined with restrictive sexual norms and stigma in India, displaces demand for paid sex into Nepali border towns. While workers’ monthly earnings (NPR 25,000–50,000) exceed local female wage norms, these economic gains are offset by exploitative labor practices, the presence of self-reported minors, limited negotiating power over condom use, exposure to violence, and intense stigma. The analysis situates spa-based sex work within four lenses: informal economy, borderland governance, gendered labor regimes, and public health risk environment. It argues spa centers are a red-light economy embedded in informal illicit cross-border markets. Policy implications include regulatory reforms targeting exploitation not workers, protecting minors, tailored health interventions for hidden venues, cross-border health and anti-trafficking collaboration, and alternative livelihoods for young women. Without these, Nepalgunj risks becoming a hub for hidden sex work as wellness services, affecting gender justice and public health

Earnings · Informal sector · Masculinity · Nepali · Qualitative research · Reproductive health · Sex work · Thematic analysis · Wage · Cross-Border Cooperation and Integration · Global Healthcare and Medical Tourism · Sex work and related issues