Joensuu reopens swimming hall steam sauna after sex meetings

The steam sauna at Vesikko swimming hall in Joensuu has reopened after being closed because men had arranged sexual meetings there through online forums, Yle reported. The city also found that people on both sides had been peeping through holes scratched into the partition between the men’s and women’s saunas.

The partition has now been repaired from floor to ceiling, preventing people from looking through, over or under it. The city is monitoring the situation, said Vesa Martiskainen, head of sports services.

The greater concern for staff was the sauna being used as a place for sexual encounters. Employees tried to prevent the meetings by carrying out inspections at times agreed in online messages. Martiskainen also followed the discussions online.

According to police, arranging sexual meetings between consenting adults in a swimming hall steam sauna or elsewhere is not in itself a crime. Simo Hämäläinen, a chief criminal inspector with the Eastern Finland Police Department, said earlier that the conduct could constitute an offence if one party experienced it as harassment or if outsiders considered it offensive to sexual decency. No crime reports have been filed in connection with events at the swimming hall.

Permanent closure would have been an unwelcome outcome for users of the swimming hall, Martiskainen said. Some customers find it easier to breathe after using the steam sauna. Staff now hope the sauna can remain peaceful.