It will soon be a criminal offence to own or publish porn that depicts strangulation or ‘choking’, the government has confirmed. In addition, survivors of image-based abuse will now have at least three years after the offence has taken place to report it to the police; significantly longer than the current six-month limit.

“We are making all explicit and realistic depictions of strangulation pornography illegal to both possess and publish,” says Alex Davies-Jones, Minister for Victims and Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls. She tells Glamour, “These are images that are extremely dangerous, they are explicit, and they are causing real-world harm to women and girls.”

Why have the new laws been introduced?

The Institute for Addressing Strangulation [IFAS] defines strangulation as the “obstruction or compression of blood vessels and/or airways by external pressure to the neck impeding normal breathing or circulation of the blood.”

There is evidence to suggest that strangulation is now the second most common cause of stroke in women under 40, with one piece of research indicating that it’s more dangerous than the torture method of waterboarding, as it restricts blood flow as well as airflow.

Research by IFAS found that 16% of people of all ages had been strangled once or more during sex, and 17% of them had not given consent for it to happen. And in 2019, a BBC survey found that in a study of 2,000 young women aged 18–39, 38% had experienced unwanted slapping, choking, gagging or spitting during otherwise consensual sex.

The new legislation follows a recommendation from Baroness Bertin’s Independent Porn Review, which found pornography has contributed to establishing strangulation as a ‘sexual norm’, particularly among young people who may be unaware of its long-term harms.

Annie*, a survivor supported by the Institute for Addressing Strangulation, said, “For too long, pornography has portrayed strangulation as something safe or even normal. It is not safe. Strangulation causes serious and lasting harm, both physically and mentally, and it must never be trivialised or eroticised.

“No one should have to live questioning why they survived while others’ lives have been stolen as a result of such harm. The lifelong impact of this violence cannot be understated — it changes who we are, how we see ourselves, and how safe we feel in the world” (via The Ministry of Justice).

The news has been tentatively welcomed by experts, including Professor Clare McGlynn, an academic at Durham University specialising in pornography, sexual violence and online abuse, who describes it as “a bold move by the government.”

She tells Glamour, “The new law could be truly transformative. All eyes are now on Ofcom to enforce the law and make platforms take down this content.”

The End Violence Against Women and Girls Coalition (EVAW) has also welcomed the news. Rebecca Hitchen, Head of Policy & Campaigns, says, “This reflects years of campaigning by EVAW and other experts who have long warned about the harms of online abuse and the normalisation of violence against women and girls in online content.

“There is no such thing as safe strangulation; women cannot consent to the long-term harm it can cause, including impaired cognitive functioning and memory. Its widespread portrayal in porn is fuelling dangerous behaviours, particularly among young people.”

What do the new laws on strangulation, or ‘choking’, in porn actually mean?

The new laws mean that it will be a criminal offence to “possess or publish” any explicit and realistic depictions of strangulation pornography.

It does not mean you cannot consensually choke or be choked by another person in your private life. Nor does it mean you cannot own or share a depiction of strangulation, provided the depiction was created with consent, did not cause serious harm to the other person, and is only shared with the other person depicted.