Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility UK Government announces plan to outlaw strangulation in pornography
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UK Government announces plan to outlaw strangulation in pornography


In June 2025, the Government’s Department of Justice announced that the depiction of strangulation in pornography will be officially outlawed in the UK.


‘Strangulation’, formally known as asphyxiation, refers here to the restriction of a person’s oxygen for the purposes of sexual pleasure. The decision to outlaw online depictions in pornography comes after mounting research demonstrates the very real safety risks associated with strangulation. These risks include a loss of consciousness, post-traumatic stress and even death. Women remain the majority of those reported to have been subjected to strangulation during sex, with men the majority among those strangling. Beyond this immediate risk to women’s safety, strangulation in pornography is one of many impacts of the normalisation of sexual violence against women.


Such depictions paint violence as not only acceptable in a sexual context, but as pleasurable.


Online discourse around violence in sex overwhelmingly points to a widespread belief in its perceived safety, contributing to its status, as described by the Ministery of Justice, as a ‘sexual norm’. Social media sites such as Twitter and Tumblr are full of violent references and the promotion of strangulation during sex. It is often referred to as necessary so as not to have ‘vanilla sex’, meaning unfulfilling or boring sex. Go deeper into online subcultures and misogynist narratives are celebrated, with violence against women positioned as central to a man’s expression of his ‘dominant’ sexuality.


The relationship between online depictions and social perceptions is mutually reinforcing. The more men consume online content which sexualises violence against women, the more likely they are to view it as normal. This socialization is predicated on a variety of ‘beliefs’, as described in the Journal of American College Health. These include ‘the belief that it is pleasurable, the belief that it is safe and the disbelief that it requires consent’. The investigation found a positive correlation between these beliefs and men subjecting women to strangulation during sex.


This is having tangible effects on women and their experiences of sex. A 2020 study of 2000 women found that 38% were subjected to strangulation or choking during sex,

where this was unwanted ‘at least some of the time’. Of those surveyed who reported the experience as consensual, 20% said they were left feeling ‘upset or frightened’.

Speaking on the government decision, Director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), Andrea Simon commented:


“This is a vital step towards recognising the role violent pornography plays in shaping attitudes to women and regulating an industry which promotes and profits from violence against women”.


Sexual violence permeates pornographic depictions of sex. This contributes to the normalisation of gendered patterns of coercive control and the degradation of women across society. The decision to ban strangulation in pornography is one step among a multitude required to begin confronting the growth and commonality of sexually violent practises on and offline.


-M. Venning




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