This article contains references to strangulation, non-consensual hitting, and sexual assault.
Choking porn should be made illegal, according to a report by the government’s independent lead reviewer, Baroness Bertin.
This means it would be a criminal offence to possess, distribute and publish pornography that depicts non-fatal strangulation. Choking or strangulation is when one person applies pressure to another’s neck, which obstructs blood vessels and can result in decreased oxygen supply to the brain.
This is one of 32 proposals made to the government and the pornography industry about tackling degrading, violent and misogynistic content. The proposals include banning porn that depicts incest, making nudify apps illegal, and creating an ombudsman to track reports of intimate image abuse, coercion, and trafficking in the pornography sector.
Here, GLAMOUR spoke to women who’ve been impacted by choking – as well as experts who’ve long been calling for reform of the porn industry.
When Hannah*, then 18, went back to Connor’s* house for a one-night stand, she hadn’t expected him to choke her during sex. She opened her eyes to find his hand wrapped around her throat, pressing firmly. Later, he spanked her so hard that blood vessels burst on her buttocks, all while he was totally oblivious to how much pain he was causing.
“I left his house the next morning, covered in bruises,” Hannah says. “I wrote it off at the time as I didn’t say anything, but six years later, I’m only beginning to realise how wrong it actually was.”
Although Hannah’s experience may seem abnormal, she isn’t alone. Acts of sexual violence, including non-consensual asphyxiation or ‘choking’, and hitting, have become increasingly prevalent in the sex lives of young people. While non-fatal strangulation laws were introduced in the UK in 2022 to address these dangers, choking – both consensual and non-consensual – appears to be rising globally.
In the US, a national probability survey revealed that 21% of women reported having been choked during sex, and 20% of men reported choking a partner, although the survey didn’t clarify whether these acts were consensual. Recent studies in Australia and a UK poll suggest even higher prevalence rates, particularly among younger women; in Australia, nearly half of the women surveyed said they had been choked during sex. This growing trend raises important questions about the medical risks, which are significant regardless of whether choking is consensual or not, and points to the need for more open discussions around its impacts.
Choking hit the headlines in 2023 when, in an extensive report on the New Social Covenant Unit, former Conservative MP Miriam Cates claimed that school children have received “graphic lessons on oral sex, how to choke your partner safely and 72 genders.”
However, James Bowen, policy director for the NAHT, which represents school administrators, responded to Cates’ claims, stating there is no evidence that “students being exposed to materials that are inappropriate for their age is a widespread issue” and that such cases would be handled individually. The report also fails to cite any instances of safe choking being taught in schools, instead referencing Cliterally the Best, a blog not included in the British RSE curriculum.