Government bans pornography depicting strangulation and incest

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 16 Oct, 08:02 · Archive

The Government will ban pornography depicting strangulation, incest and adults roleplaying as children under 16 from November 6.

Pornography depicting strangulation or suffocation, sexual activity between relatives or people pretending to be related, and adults roleplaying as children under 16 will become illegal from November 6.

The ban follows cross-party pressure about the negative impact on women and girls, with the announcement made earlier this year. Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Bertin made the recommendations in her review into pornography regulation, which reported in 2025. She said the news came "not a moment too soon", noting that strangulation in pornography had become "totally normalised". Her report found that pornography showing women being choked can have "devastating" real-world consequences.

Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones said the Government was committed to halving violence against women and girls in a decade. "For many people, it is still easy to access harmful pornography online," she said. "Content that normalises, or even glorifies, violence against women is dangerous and can blur the line with what is acceptable in real life." She emphasised that the ban was not about criminalising harmless sexual preferences, but about protecting people from content that shapes perceptions of healthy relationships, particularly young people.

How it is being reported

• Pornography ban coming soon for 'strangulation and incest' materialThe Government is banning pornography that depicts strangulations and incestuous relationships from next monthWorcester News · 16 Oct, 07:13
• Pornography ban coming soon for 'strangulation and incest' materialThe Government is banning pornography that depicts strangulations and incestuous relationships from next monthMalvern Gazette · 16 Oct, 07:13

In this story: Government · Baroness Gabby Bertin · Alex Davies-Jones

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