“There is no safe way to strangle”: IFAS responds as new pornography offences come into force
The Institute for Addressing Strangulation (IFAS) welcomes new legislation coming into force in England and Wales on 6 November 2026 under the Crime and Policing Act 2026, making it a criminal offence to possess or publish certain pornographic images explicitly and realistically depicting strangulation or suffocation.
The new offences mark an important step towards challenging the normalisation of potentially life-threatening violence in sexual contexts.
IFAS’s specialist research and clinical expertise have contributed to the development of the national policy response, including through engagement with Baroness Bertin’s independent review, Creating a Safer World: The Challenge of Regulating Online Pornography.
In November 2025, the then Minister for Safeguarding, Jess Phillips MP, acknowledged IFAS’s contribution in the House of Commons, stating that “much of that work comes from the Institute” when discussing the Government’s plans to criminalise pornography depicting strangulation.
Recognising the risks
Strangulation can cause serious physical and psychological harm, including loss of consciousness, brain injury and stroke. These consequences can occur even where there are no visible injuries.
IFAS’s research has raised significant concerns about the normalisation of strangulation during sex, particularly among young people. Its UK prevalence research, published in November 2025, found that 66% of sexually experienced respondents aged 16–34 reported having been strangled during sex.
The findings reinforce the need for greater public understanding of the risks and for prevention approaches grounded in clinical evidence.
Professor Cath White OBE, Medical Director of IFAS, said:
“There is no safe way to strangle. Pressure applied to the neck can restrict breathing or blood flow to and from the brain, with potentially devastating consequences, even when there are no visible injuries.
“The portrayal of strangulation as a normal or harmless part of sexual activity is deeply concerning. Whatever the circumstances, the medical risks remain. People, particularly young people, need access to accurate, evidence-based information that challenges dangerous misconceptions about strangulation.”
Beyond legislation: the need for prevention
While the new offences represent significant progress, IFAS emphasises that legislation alone cannot address the wider attitudes, behaviours and cultural influences contributing to the normalisation of strangulation.
The Institute is calling for a coordinated national approach to prevention, including public awareness campaigns, evidence-based education about healthy relationships and consent, and improved professional understanding across healthcare, education, safeguarding and criminal justice.
Bernie Ryan OBE, Chief Executive of IFAS, said:
“We welcome this important legislative development and the recognition of the harm associated with the portrayal and normalisation of strangulation.
“IFAS is proud that our research and expertise have contributed to the national policy response. But changing the law is only one part of preventing harm.
“We now need to build on this progress through sustained investment in prevention, education and public awareness. By working together across Government, healthcare, education and specialist services, we can challenge harmful misconceptions, improve understanding of the risks and strengthen support for victims and survivors.”
Since its establishment in 2022, IFAS has worked with partners to strengthen the UK’s response to strangulation through research, clinical guidance, professional training and survivor-informed resources.
Working in partnership with SafeLives, IFAS has helped deliver specialist training to more than 24,000 frontline professionals, strengthening recognition of strangulation and its potentially serious consequences.
The Institute’s 2026–2029 strategy places prevention and early intervention, survivor-informed change, national leadership and evidence-based criminal justice responses at the centre of its work.
As the new legislation takes effect, IFAS is calling for continued collaboration and sustainable investment to ensure that evidence translates into meaningful prevention and improved responses.
Recognising the risks of strangulation in law is an important step. Preventing harm requires us to challenge its normalisation wherever it occurs.
ENDS
Notes to editors
About the legislation
From 6 November 2026, new offences in England and Wales will criminalise the possession and publication of certain pornographic images explicitly and realistically depicting strangulation or suffocation, subject to the conditions and defences set out in law.
The maximum penalties are two years’ imprisonment for possession and five years for publication.
Government guidance also makes clear that people holding material covered by the new possession offence must permanently delete or otherwise dispose of it before the legislation takes effect.
About IFAS
The Institute for Addressing Strangulation (IFAS) is the UK’s specialist centre of expertise on the forensic medical aspects of non-fatal strangulation.
Established in October 2022 with Home Office funding, IFAS sits within the Faculty of Forensic & Legal Medicine (FFLM).
IFAS brings together research, clinical expertise, professional education and lived experience to improve the recognition, prevention and response to strangulation.
Further information: www.ifas.org.uk
Media enquiries:
Nika Noakes
nikan@ifas.org.uk
