Joensuu closes Vesikko swimming hall steam sauna due to sex meetings and disruptive behaviour
The city of Joensuu has closed the steam sauna at Vesikko swimming hall following reports of men arranging sexual encounters and engaging in voyeuristic behaviour. The sauna was shut last Friday after city officials were unable to address the issue over the past year.
Timo Heinonen, Joensuu’s sports director, confirmed to Yle that the closure was prompted by men using an anonymous location-based website to organise sex meetings in the steam sauna. Yle reviewed messages on the site, including one from May stating, "In the steam sauna, you have to be bold and proactive, as almost everyone is there for the same purpose." Following media coverage, the tone of the messages shifted, with some users condemning the arrangements.
Staff at Vesikko first became aware of the issue after receiving a tip from a customer. The situation has since been monitored both online and on-site for a year. Heinonen told Yle that the presence of a male supervisor had prevented sexual activity from taking place in the sauna. "We have been aware of this for a long time. It became public when we had to close the sauna," he said.
The city has not filed a police report, as the acts had no specific target. Chief Inspector Simo Hämäläinen of the Eastern Finland Police Department told Yle that while two consenting adults meeting for sex is not illegal, the behaviour could constitute a crime if it is perceived as harassment or offensive to public sexual morality. Possible charges could include public violation of sexual morality or sexual harassment, though Hämäläinen did not assess whether the incidents at Vesikko met the threshold for criminal activity. He emphasised the police’s general advice to behave appropriately in public spaces.
In addition to the sex meetings, Heinonen confirmed that men had scraped the glass of the steam sauna to peer into the women’s side, a separate issue from the organised encounters. Ilta-Sanomat reported that men had also looked over the partition, though Heinonen did not specify whether this was a recurring problem or involved multiple individuals. He indicated that the police may have information about the voyeurism.
Vesikko is a recreational swimming hall with multiple pools and saunas, including a steam sauna used without swimwear. The steam sauna’s glass wall has openings at the top and bottom, which Heinonen said had been exploited by some men to gain a view of the women’s side. He noted that similar issues have been reported at swimming halls elsewhere in Finland, describing the problem as difficult to eliminate through rule changes alone.
The steam sauna will remain closed at least until the end of Vesikko’s maintenance break on 11 August, when a decision on its reopening will be made.