Pornography that depicts strangulation or suffocation will soon become illegal in the UK, following new amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill.
The change, announced by the government this week, will make it a criminal offence to possess or publish pornographic content featuring “choking”, while placing legal obligations on tech platforms to prevent users in the UK from accessing such material.
The decision follows mounting concern that violent sexual imagery online is shaping real-world behaviour, particularly among young people. An independent government review, led by Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Bertin and published earlier this year, found that strangulation has become increasingly common in pornography and has contributed to the act being viewed as a sexual norm.
Research cited in the report shows that strangulation carries serious physical and psychological risks. Even brief moments of oxygen deprivation can cause brain injury, while repeated exposure can lead to long-term neurological changes associated with depression and anxiety. Non-fatal strangulation has also been widely recognised as a key indicator of escalating domestic violence. In 2021, the Domestic Abuse Act made the act itself a standalone offence, closing a loophole that had allowed abusers to evade prosecution when victims showed no visible injuries.
Under the new measures, tech companies will be required to take proactive steps to prevent the circulation of choking or suffocation content. Platforms that fail to comply could face fines of up to £18 million from Ofcom. The material will also be classed as a “priority offence” under the Online Safety Act, placing it on the same legal footing as terrorism and child sexual abuse content.
Bernie Ryan, chief executive of the Institute for Addressing Strangulation, welcomed the move. “While consenting adults have the right to explore their sexuality safely, strangulation is never safe,” she said. “When it’s portrayed in pornography without context, it sends a dangerous message that this is normal or desirable. Our research shows that there is no safe way to strangle.”
Andrea Simon, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, called the government’s decision a “necessary step” towards addressing the normalisation of sexual violence. “Women cannot consent to the harm strangulation causes,” she said. “Its portrayal in porn fuels dangerous attitudes that have real-world consequences.”
However, some campaigners expressed scepticism about whether the change will be meaningfully enforced. Fiona Mackenzie, founder of We Can’t Consent To This, argued that existing laws already criminalise such content but have rarely been applied. “More than five years ago, women were telling us that social media was presenting strangulation as an expression of passion,” she said. “The law already covered this, but no action was taken against the sites profiting from it. Unless enforcement finally happens, we risk seeing history repeat itself.”
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said the government was determined to address the issue. “Viewing and sharing this kind of material is vile and dangerous,” she said. “Those who promote it are contributing to a culture of abuse that has no place in society.”
The move comes amid growing public concern about how violent pornography influences attitudes towards sex and consent. A 2020 survey by the British Board of Film Classification found that most children who viewed pornography had encountered aggressive or violent acts that they found disturbing, with many later mimicking what they had seen. Other studies have linked such exposure to confusion about consent and an increase in sexually aggressive behaviour.
Baroness Bertin, who led the independent review, described the government’s amendment as an encouraging step but said further scrutiny of the porn industry was urgently needed. “It’s a start,” she told the BBC. “There’s still a vast amount of violent pornography that remains completely legal online but would be illegal if produced offline. That imbalance must be addressed.”
The government has also extended the time limit for prosecuting intimate image abuse cases from six months to three years, giving victims more opportunity to seek justice. Ministers said the move was part of a wider effort to remove barriers faced by victims of sexual and domestic violence.
Campaigners have long argued that tackling online misogyny requires more than legal reform. Many have called for greater investment in education around consent and healthy relationships, alongside tougher enforcement against the porn platforms that profit from harmful material.
For now, the new law sends a clear signal that depictions of strangulation are not a form of entertainment but a representation of violence with devastating consequences. Whether that message translates into real accountability for the online platforms hosting such content remains to be seen.
Photo from Depositphotos
