The UK Government has introduced a bill to make it illegal to create and share pornographic videos that feature strangulation (choking) or suffocation.
If passed, the proposed law would also extend the amount of time victims of image-based abuse have to report offences, from six months to three years.
It comes three months after the UK enacted age verification measures for both porn sites and platforms that allow pornographic content, such as OnlyFans.
Choking
Sexual strangulation involves restricting or stopping someone from breathing. It is often referred to as ‘choking’. Sexual violence experts advise that there is no safe way to strangle.
Earlier this year, House of Lords member Baroness Gabby Bertin handed down a Government-commissioned review of online pornography.
Bertin found such content has contributed to normalising dangerous practices, particularly among young people, and recommended choking porn be criminalised.
Bertin noted a 2019 BBC survey finding 38% of UK women aged 18-39 had experienced choking or suffocation during a sexual encounter. More than half of respondents said these acts were unwanted at least some of the time.
“A person can become unconscious within 10 seconds of being choked, and within 17 seconds they can have a seizure due to a lack of oxygen. Death can occur... within 150 seconds of being rendered unconscious,” Bertin’s review said.
The review also noted choking during sex may impact the structure of the brain, which is associated with negative mental health impacts.
The bill
The UK Government is proposing to make it a criminal offence to possess and publish pornographic images showing choking.
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Web platforms will have to “take proactive steps” to stop people from viewing this content.
This could include:
- Automated systems to detect and block images as they’re posted
- Stricter content moderation tools
- Updating content policies
Compliance with the bill would be monitored by the UK’s communications regulator, Ofcom.
Labour MP Alex Davies-Jones told LADBible that tech firms found to be in breach of the new rules could face fines of up to £18 million (AUD$36 million).
“If, for example, X is showcasing this type of pornography that we deem to be unacceptable and illegal... then Ofcom can go after the platform,” she said.
Another legal amendment proposed at the same time would see victims of intimate image abuse able to file complaints up to three years after the alleged offence, up from six months.
The UK Government described intimate image abuse as an “abhorrent sexual offense,” and said the proposal is part of broader efforts to halve violence against women and girls.
