UK pornography ban covering strangulation comes into force

Summarised from DevonLive's report · Updated 16 Oct, 06:57 · Archive

The UK will ban pornography depicting strangulation, incest and adults posing as children from November 6.

The UK Government has announced a new ban on pornography depicting strangulation or suffocation, sexual activity between relatives, or adults roleplaying as children under 16, coming into force on November 6.

Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones said the measure is part of the Government's commitment to halving violence against women and girls within a decade. 'For many people, it is still easy to access harmful pornography online,' he said. 'Content that normalises, or even glorifies, violence against women is dangerous and can blur the line with what is acceptable in real life.' He stressed the ban is not about criminalising consensual sexual preferences.

The ban follows a 2025 review by Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Bertin, who found strangulation in pornography has become 'totally normalised' and can have 'devastating' real-world consequences. A 2024 study cited by her review found more than a third of 16 to 34-year-olds had reported being strangled or choked during consensual sex.

Read the report

• Minister says 'delete it now' as new pornography ban coming in NovemberTough new rules will outlaw multiple types of content across the UKDevonLive · 16 Oct, 06:14

In this story: UK Government · Alex Davies-Jones · Baroness Gabby Bertin · Institute for Addressing Strangulation

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