[Ammi]

Online pornography depicting women being choked is to be banned, following a review that found such images are rife and have helped establish the act as a sexual norm.

The government confirmed the possession and publication of images showing strangulation and suffocation will be criminalised, as part of a crackdown on violent pornography.

While non-fatal strangulation is already an offence, its online depiction is not currently illegal.

This legislative action follows Conservative peer Baroness Bertin’s warning earlier this year of a "total absence of government scrutiny" in the pornography industry.

Her independent review, published in February, cited worrying anecdotal evidence from teachers about students asking how to choke girls during sex.

Baroness Bertin cautioned that people acting out choking in their sex lives "may face devastating consequences".

Amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill, due before peers in the House of Lords next week for further scrutiny, were confirmed by the government on Monday.

As well as making strangulation or suffocation in pornography illegal, duties will be placed on online platforms to stop the spread of such images, the Ministry of Justice said.

Another amendment will extend the time limit for victims of intimate image abuse, which can include so-called “revenge porn”, to come forward to report such crimes.

Currently, victims have six months to do so, but the Government wants to extend this to three years.

The department said the change will mean criminals who take or share an intimate image without consent can be prosecuted at any time within three years of the offence and within six months of the prosecutor having sufficient evidence to bring a case.


…full article…

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...-b2857874.html