UK to Outlaw Choking and Incest Pornography From November
New criminal offences banning pornography that depicts strangulation, suffocation or incestuous relationships will come into force in England and Wales from 6 November, the government has confirmed, alongside a ban on content showing adults role-playing as children under 16.
The move follows an independent 2025 review, commissioned under former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, which found depictions of choking were “rife” on mainstream porn sites and had helped normalise the practice among young people. The review’s author, Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Bertin, pointed to one disturbing case in which a 14-year-old had asked his teacher for guidance on choking a girl during sex, warning that young people imitating such acts “may face devastating consequences.”
Bertin told the Press Association the change came “not a moment too soon” and would “send the unequivocal signal” to platforms and wider society that “extreme and violent content that encourages real-life harm is not acceptable.” Speaking separately to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she said depictions of strangulation had “absolutely sort of normalised this kind of sexual violence,” adding: “That has to come to an end and I hope this law change will be the beginning of that.” She said the goal was to “marry up” inconsistencies between what the law allows offline and online — non-fatal strangulation is already a criminal act without consent, but showing it in pornography had not been.
The offences were introduced through amendments folded into the Crime and Policing Bill, on the statute book since April. Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones said the law was not intended to criminalise “harmless sexual preferences,” but warned that pornography “can shape what people think a healthy relationship looks like, especially young people,” and that material which “normalises, or even glorifies” violence against women risks blurring “the line with what is acceptable in real life.” Her message to anyone holding such material was blunt: “If you’ve got this material, delete it. If you’re sharing it, stop. It’s not as harmless as you may think, and after 6 November, it is criminal.”
Penalties and scope
Publishing banned content — including uploading or otherwise sharing it online — will carry a maximum five-year prison sentence. Possession penalties are tiered: up to three years for images depicting someone pretending to be under 16, and up to two years for content showing strangulation, suffocation or sexual activity between certain relatives. The offences also extend to depictions of sex between step- or foster-relations where one party is portrayed as under 18.
Durham University law professor Clare McGlynn, who has long warned that widely available extreme content normalises sexual violence, called the law’s commencement a potential turning point, telling the BBC: “The commencement of these laws marking a line in the sand when we decided that we were no longer going to accept the normalisation of sexually violent content in pornography.” She cautioned, however, that enforcement will depend on how quickly tech platforms and regulators act, noting that “this is not about prosecuting individuals, but transforming the online pornographic landscape and that requires the platforms and regulator to act.”
Source: BBC News