Woman left traumatised by swinging says website 'facilitated abuse'
BBC News 2026-06-16 05:00:16
Context: Ruth O'Grady, a woman from north Wales, claims she was coerced into participating in swinging activities by her ex-husband, Chris, and facilitated by the UK's largest swinging website, FabSwingers. Over an 18-month period, Ruth says she had sex with over 100 strangers, often under conditions she did not want to be in, and was left traumatized with ongoing flashbacks. The BBC investigation into the UK's swinging scene has found that FabSwingers has been mentioned in hundreds of recent crime reports across the UK.
Key Facts
- Ruth O'Grady says she was persuaded by her husband to join FabSwingers, despite initial reservations, and within months was having sex with strangers, often multiple times a week, and was expected to film the encounters.
- The BBC submitted Freedom of Information requests to all 45 police forces in the UK and found 329 reports mentioning FabSwingers, including allegations of rape, other serious sexual offences, controlling and coercive behaviour, harassment, blackmail, stalking, assault, and possession of extreme pornography.
- Ruth claims that her ex-husband, Chris, arranged for her to have sex with men from the site while he watched, waited nearby, or was not present, and that she was expected to appear enthusiastic about swinging, even when she was not.
- Professor Nicola Gavey, from the University of Auckland, says that it is possible for people to appear to consent to sex they do not want, and that she has heard similar accounts to Ruth's from other women.
- FabSwingers, which claims to have 600,000 active monthly members, says that consent is the foundation of swinging and that reports of non-consensual activity are treated as a priority risk, but Ruth disputes this, saying she reported banned behaviour by men she met on the site and no action was taken.