MAFS should end for ignoring rape and abuse – but so too must Western misogynistic culture

Channel 4’s Married at First Sight UK (MAFS) looks likely to be axed after a BBC Panorama documentary revealed that two brides on the show made allegations of being raped by their “husbands”. Moreover, a third bride reported having to get an abortion after non-consensual sex.

This questionable TV show ‘entertains’ audiences at home by putting together people in on-screen marriages, which then go through a series of challenges to test their interpersonal relationship skills.

However, whether intentional or not, we would argue the show normalises abusive behaviour, validates misogynistic attitudes, and applies further pressure on victims of abuse into thinking their experiences are normal or inevitable.

MAFS UK has been a symptom of a wider problem for a long time

As a result, this latest bombshell exposed in the documentary appears to reinforce those criticisms. But the responsibility does not begin and end with MAFS, no matter how much the establishment may prefer to isolate the problem there. The allegations instead reflect a wider misogynistic culture across Western society – one that continues to shape harmful attitudes towards women.

The Good Law Project have confronted this head on, saying:

All over the world, women are coming together to say no.

We’re calling time on the men who treat us as objects, as obstacles to be trampled over to get what they think they deserve.

Shocking allegations about abuse on Married at First Sight follow a familiar pattern, says Katrina McDonnell:https://t.co/Kckgz1ARYU

— Good Law Project (@GoodLawProject) May 19, 2026

Katrina McDonnell: “Sexual abuse is not inevitable”

For far too long, women and girls have paid the price of toxic misogyny which permeates throughout our society. Whether abuse happens through violating experiences in schools or in adult relationships, it affects every woman and girl in some way.

Among the deeply concerning allegations raised, the three women on the BBC Panorama documentary spoke of a number of red flags, reports of violence, and even the threat of an acid attack.

Arguably, there was a potential opportunity here to foster, encourage, and teach healthy interpersonal skills. Nevertheless, the UK’s sensationalist, clickbait-driven media too often prioritises shock over wellbeing and toxic dynamics get amplified for entertainment. This ends up normalising unhealthy behaviour, emboldening abusers, and increasing victim-blaming attitudes rather than challenging them.

This has undoubtedly been deeply traumatic for these three brave women who have refused to go ‘heal’ silently, and as McDonnell underscores in her article:

But these claims are also deeply familiar. Women who say that men ignore them, threaten them and attack them. Men who follow a playbook of ownership and violence ripped straight from the frantic posturing of the manosphere.

And then the denials. The men accused of abusing women on Married at First Sight deny rape, violence and threats, and claim that all their actions were carried out with the women’s consent. The production company says it combined psychological checks and vetting with “gold standard” systems to look after the women’s welfare, telling the BBC that it had “acted appropriately in all these cases”.

Rape crimes have increased by 511% in two decades

We have written extensively on the catastrophically alarming rise in abuse towards women and girls in the UK. After all, this issue doesn’t stay contained within one TV show – it runs through our wider society. And since women and girls make up half the population, the figures point to a national emergency that we still haven’t addressed properly.

We wrote last year:

In the last 20 years, sexual offences have increased: from 970 against young girls under-13, and 8,192 against women over 16 to 5,067 and 49,075 respectively. When looking at all rapes, crimes have increased by 511%.

In fact, rape offences doubled between 2014 to 2019, rising from 29,420 to a horrifying 59,999. There is a slight reduction seen in 2020/2021 down to 55,685, during COVID and lockdown periods, before shooting up to 70,031 the following year.

As a result, we must end this dangerous conditioning, and we must stop placing women and girls in situations that put them at risk – a point McDonnell makes clearly in her article with the Good Law Project.

She powerfully writes:

But the red flags should have been raised before this show was even commissioned. Married at First Sight puts women in intimate situations with men they have never met. Under the glare of the studio lights, watched by an audience of millions, they follow the script of a fake relationship, and feel pressured to perform by the promise of a shot at fame.

The format is a recipe for hollowing out meaningful consent. For putting women in danger.

Epstein and women-hating billionaires

McDonnell also spoke about the huge influences at play across the West, which have clearly validated and normalised misogynistic abuse in Western men:

We’ve seen this movie before. From Jeffrey Epstein to smart glasses and from Grok deepfakes to the rising tide of the far right, powerful men are trying to control women’s bodies and to make money from their pain.

And when we speak up about it we are disbelieved, ignored and attacked.

We don’t have to look far for evidence supporting McDonnell’s assertions. As aptly shown by the continued exposure of powerful men linked to Jeffrey Epstein who have yet to be held accountable for serious allegations of sexual abuse against women and children.

This reality only deepens anger about how unevenly the justice system applies accountability when the victim is female.

Therefore, accountability must go far beyond a simple reprimand for MAFS and Channel 4. Far too many survivors are forced to keep quiet about their abuse and trauma in a toxic rape culture. But, we all deserve stronger protections that do not protect abusers at the direct cost of people who are abused.

It is time to make it clear that women own their safety, bodies, privacy and consent, and nobody has the right to debate, disregard or violate them.

Featured image via Getty/Dan Kitwood