Charity founder issues stark warning as porn depicting strangulation and incest set to be banned

A human rights campaigner has spoken out after the UK Government announced that porn depicting strangulation and incestuous relationships will be banned from next month.

From 6 November, pornography that depicts strangulation or suffocation, sex between people who are related or pretending to be related, or when somebody is pretending to be a child under 16, will be illegal.

The new rules come after a review into porn regulation in 2025 by Baroness Gabby Bertin, which found that depictions of choking were ‘rife,’ which had helped normalise it among young people.

Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones said of the ban: “This isn’t about criminalising harmless sexual preferences. But porn can shape what people think a healthy relationship looks like, especially young people.

“Content that normalises, or even glorifies, violence against women is dangerous and can blur the line with what is acceptable in real life.”

A study by the Institute for Addressing Strangulation in 2024 found more than a third of 16-to 34-year-old adults had reported being strangled or choked at least once during consensual sex.

A review found that choking during sex has been normalised due to its prevalence in porn (Getty Stock Image)

Meanwhile, a survey by the same group last year found 43% of 16 to 17-year-olds, who are sexually active, said they had been subjected to it.

Following the update, Tyla spoke with Aneeta Prem MBE, Founder and President of Freedom Charity, which works to prevent forced marriage, FGM and abuse through education, safeguarding and work with young people.

She explained: “Some things should never become normal just because they are shown as sexual entertainment.

“Strangulation is serious. If young people keep seeing choking or suffocation presented as an ordinary part of sex, we have to ask what that teaches them about consent, relationships and what women are expected to put up with.”

The expert reasoned: “I would never say that every boy who watches pornography will become violent. That would be wrong. But we cannot pretend that what young people repeatedly see has no effect on what they start to think is normal.

“That is why education matters. Through Freedom Charity’s Not in My Name work, we have involved boys and young men in challenging forced marriage, FGM and abuse. One thing I have learned very clearly is that preventing violence against women cannot be left to women and girls. Boys need to be part of that conversation too.”

The charity founder said that if young people keep seeing choking presented as an ordinary part of sex, we 'have to ask what that teaches them about consent' (Getty Stock Image)

The expert urged that we need to start talking honestly to boys about things like pornography, consent, respect and boundaries, and ‘just because something appears on a screen does not mean it is healthy, normal or something a partner should be expected to accept’.

Prem added: “The same applies to material showing incest or adults pretending to be children. There have to be clear lines around what we are prepared to normalise.

“For women and girls, the message is important: violence does not become harmless simply because it is sexualised.

“The law matters, but it cannot do the whole job. Platforms have responsibilities, harmful material has to be dealt with properly, and young people need good education about healthy relationships.”

She urged: “We should be talking to boys before harmful ideas become normal to them, not waiting until women and girls are dealing with the consequences.”