At-home massages have become increasingly popular, but the BBC has heard from dozens of women who say they were sexually assaulted by therapists in their own homes. Experts are now urging the government to introduce stricter regulation in a sector with little oversight.
Callum Urquhart advertised his at-home massage services on social media, where one client, referred to as Yas, booked him. She said the massage began professionally, with Urquhart asking for consent, but he then sexually assaulted her. Yas told the BBC she feared for her life, and later discovered Urquhart had no formal qualifications or training in massage therapy. Even after his arrest and ongoing police investigation, he was able to continue practising and assaulting other clients. Last year, Urquhart was jailed for sexually assaulting four female clients in Bristol.
Under current UK regulations, massage therapists do not need a licence or any formal training to start practising. The title is not protected, meaning anyone can set themselves up as a therapist. An accredited register exists, but it is voluntary, and experts say only a minority of practitioners are signed up. Some local councils require businesses offering massage to hold a licence, which can be revoked if the firm is deemed unsafe, but there is no mandatory regulation as there is for other healthcare professionals.
Another victim, referred to as Taylor, booked an at-home massage through the Urban app, which allows customers to find self-employed therapists. In October 2019, she chose a male therapist with hundreds of positive reviews. She said the therapist pulled the towel off her lower body and touched her intimately without consent before committing a serious sexual assault. Taylor said she froze, afraid of what he might do if she reacted, and when she told him to stop, he ignored her. The moment he left, she broke down in tears.
Yas said she was "heartbroken" that nothing stopped Urquhart from practising and assaulting other women. She believes regulation would have made a difference: "If there were regulations I imagine he would have been under investigation or struck off. There would have been some repercussions to his actions." She added that one reason she reported the assault was to prevent it happening to others.
The BBC has found more than a dozen criminal cases in the last six years involving offenders using the massage industry to rape and sexually assault clients, including those who continued to advertise and carry out services after being arrested. Victims describe lasting trauma, including panic attacks and difficulty trusting others. As the wellness app market grows, campaigners say the lack of oversight poses a serious risk to public safety.
