Trigger Warning: This article discusses violent sexual content, including references to pornographic depictions of choking and suffocation. Reader discretion is advised.
In a move hailed as both bold and overdue, the UK government has announced that online pornography showing acts of strangulation or suffocation will soon be illegal. The landmark policy, introduced under amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill, seeks to tackle the normalization of violent sexual behavior—particularly against women and girls.
According to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, platforms that fail to detect and remove such content will face regulatory action from Ofcom. The amendment also designates choking pornography as a “priority offence” under the Online Safety Act, placing it alongside terrorism and child sexual abuse material.
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Technology Secretary Liz Kendall didn’t mince words when describing the ban:
“Viewing and sharing this kind of material online is not only deeply distressing, it is vile and dangerous. Those who post or promote such content are contributing to a culture of violence and abuse that has no place in our society.”
Why the UK Made This Decision
This move comes after a government-commissioned review revealed that choking scenes were “rife” on major porn sites, with some young people replicating these acts in real life. One particularly troubling case involved a 14-year-old boy asking a teacher how to choke girls during sex—evidence, campaigners say, of how online fantasies can warp real-world behavior.
Porn Choking Ban–Just the Beginning
Baroness Bertin, who led the review, called the decision “only the beginning,” noting that there remains a vast amount of violent content still freely available online. “The government has to use this as a first step to try to address that balance,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Experts on sexual violence have applauded the change. Bernie Ryan, head of the Institute for Addressing Strangulation, reminded the public that “strangulation is a serious form of violence, often used in domestic abuse to control, silence or terrify.” Meanwhile, Andrea Simon of the End Violence Against Women Coalition called it “a vital step” toward dismantling harmful portrayals of sex, emphasizing that “there is no such thing as safe strangulation.”
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Yet not everyone is convinced. Fiona Mackenzie, founder of the advocacy group We Can’t Consent To This, argued that similar laws already exist but have rarely been enforced. “Until we see otherwise, I don’t believe that any new law will actually be enforced,” she said.
Still, the numbers speak volumes: a BBC survey found that nearly 38% of women aged 18–39 reported being choked during sex. For many activists, that statistic alone underscores how deeply this form of violence has been sexualized—and how urgently reform is needed.
For queer readers and allies, the issue resonates beyond gender lines. This is about the kind of culture we’re building online—one where pleasure and consent are clear, not blurred by harm disguised as passion.
REFERENCE: BBC