Overview

• The Commons passed an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill on June 18 to criminalise pornographic depictions of strangulation and suffocation, and the measure now moves to the House of Lords.
• Once approved by peers, it will become illegal to produce, possess or distribute any online content showing non-fatal choking or suffocation during sex.
• Officials say the change responds to Baroness Gabby Bertin’s Independent Porn Review, which highlighted how violent porn is shaping dangerous expectations among young people.
• Campaigners and medical experts warn there is no safe level of neck compression and note survey data showing 38% of women aged 18–39 have been choked during sex.
• The ban is part of a wider violence against women and girls strategy that also introduces new respect orders and a duty to report suspected child sex offences.