Sexual Strangulation: Why It Matters

Picture @TheGuardian

Sexual strangulation or “choking” is being talked about more and more — but not in the ways it needs to be. At its core, strangulation cuts off oxygen or blood to the brain. That is what makes it dangerous. There is no safe level of restricting someone’s air or blood flow. Yet, we are seeing more of it, particularly among young people, where it is becoming normalised.

A Generational Shift

The numbers tell a striking story. In key work by the Institute for Addressing Strangulation, among older adults, around 3% report ever experiencing sexual choking. Among 18–24 year olds, that figure is closer to 50%. That is a generational shift in sexual practice, and one that raises serious concerns (read more here).

Why does this matter? Because, there is no safe level off cutting oxygen to the brain. Recent evidence makes this clear. A systematic review led by Helen Bichard at Bangor University (read here) pulled together all the existing research and found that, in women under 40, strangulation is the second most common cause of stroke. That is not a minor risk — that is life-altering harm.

Sex Education by Pornography

This trend signals something important: young people are being educated about sex not in schools, not in safe conversations, but through pornography. And that pornography overwhelmingly depicts acts like strangulation, often framed as normal, exciting, even expected.

Many of us hesitate to criticise porn — not wanting to kink-shame, not wanting to seem “uncool” or judgemental. But here is the line: strangulation is not safe, and what we are seeing is real-world harm.

Power, Gender, and Violence

Strangulation in pornography is not gender-neutral. It overwhelmingly shows men strangling women, and it is an act of power and control. That is important. Research is clear: women who have been strangled are seven to eight times more likely to be murdered (read here). This is not just a performance or a preference — it connects directly to patterns of abuse and violence against women and girls.

The Problem with Consent

Consent is another critical piece of this picture. For consent to be valid, it must be informed, free, and something you can withdraw. With strangulation, all of that is compromised.

• Most young people do not know the risks, so they cannot give informed consent.

• With a hand around your throat, you cannot speak — so withdrawing consent is almost impossible.

• Strangulation interferes with consciousness and memory, meaning capacity to consent or recall what happened can be lost,

• And legally, you cannot consent to serious harm. Even if someone says “yes,” the law does not recognise that consent when actual injury occurs. See the work of We Can't Consent To This.

  
  

Why This Matters

What we are seeing is the outcome of poor sex education, filtered through violent pornography, shaping how young people think sex should look and feel. Those scripts are overwhelmingly flavoured with violence against women and girls: depictions of rape, incest, child abuse, non-consensual imagery, and strangulation.

The result? Real-world harm. Increased risk of injury, stroke, and even death. The erosion of what genuine consent looks like and the normalisation of violence in sexual relationships.

My work around prevention of gender-based violence featured in a powerful segment on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour bringing national attention to the urgent need to address the harm from online porn through a rise in sexual strangulation. This coincided with the introduction of a government ban depiction of strangulation in porn alongside other measures strengthening the Online Safety Act to regulate harmful content. The discussion, which aired at approximately 30 minutes into the episode (listen here), followed a series of media features on my work on prevention of violence against women and girls in The Guardian (read here) and The Psychologist  (read here).

Jane Meyrick,. 4/09/2025

AI Declaration - this blog was written by Dr Jane Meyrick and checked for grammar and spelling by Co-pilot.