Date Published
November 04, 2025

Yesterday (3rd November 2025), the government tabled amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill that will criminalise possessing or publishing depictions of strangulation or suffocation in pornography, with responsibilities put on tech platforms to stop the spread of this content.

Online platforms will be required to proactively detect and remove material depicting strangulation on their services or face enforcement action by the regulator, Ofcom.

Amendments were also tabled to give survivors of image-based sexual abuse up to six times longer to report what happened to them to the police. Those who take or share an intimate image without consent can now be prosecuted up to three years after the offence was committed; a positive move for survivors.

Responding to the announcement, Andrea Simon, Director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition said:

“We welcome the government’s decision to extend the time limit for bringing prosecutions for taking and sharing non-consensual intimate images and to criminalise the depiction of strangulation in pornography – a move that reflects years of campaigning by EVAW and other experts who have long warned about the normalisation of violence against women and girls in online content.

 

There is no such thing as safe strangulation; women cannot consent to the long-term harm it can cause, including impaired cognitive functioning and memory. Its widespread portrayal in porn is fuelling dangerous behaviours, particularly among young people.

 

This is a vital step towards recognising the role violent pornography plays in shaping attitudes to women and regulating an industry which promotes and profits from violence against women. The UK’s flagship Online Safety Act must now be updated to ensure online platforms are made to remove this content.”
ENDS
Date Published
November 04, 2025
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