Study prompts concern over normalisation of sexual strangulation among young people

Sexual strangulation has become increasingly normalised among young Australians, prompting concern from consent and violence-prevention educators. A 2024 study cited by the ABC found that nearly 60 per cent of young people had experienced strangulation during sex. Participants in a Radio National discussion described it as part of an expected sexual script rather than an unusual kink.

Laura Crozier, who works in consent education, said the practice had become so common that it was barely considered unconventional. University student Elaquare Spencer said she had repeatedly needed to ask partners not to strangle her, and had even apologised for making that request. Violence-prevention educator Maree Crabbe said pornography was a major influence.

She cited research indicating that depictions of strangulation rose from almost zero in pornography in the early 2000s to 15 per cent of scenes in popular pornography by 2024. Crabbe said the practice was highly gendered, with men and boys more commonly doing the strangling and women, girls and gender-diverse people more commonly being strangled. She argued that unequal power relationships should not be treated as edgy or fashionable.

She also warned that neck pressure can cause death, blood clots, strokes, memory problems, migraines, hearing and eyesight damage and miscarriage. Oxygen deprivation may impair a person’s capacity to make decisions during an encounter. Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said there was no safe way to strangle someone and called for depictions of strangulation in pornography to be banned.

The report linked the debate to the death of a 16-year-old girl in Sydney’s northern beaches, which the ABC said it understood was related to a suspected choking act.