{"id":302,"date":"2026-02-06T14:41:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T14:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/never-ok\/?p=302"},"modified":"2026-02-17T10:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T10:56:10","slug":"choking-during-sex-isnt-just-risky-its-against-the-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/never-ok\/2026\/02\/06\/choking-during-sex-isnt-just-risky-its-against-the-law\/","title":{"rendered":"'Choking' during sex isn\u2019t just risky, it\u2019s against the law!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"80\" data-end=\"278\"><em>Non-fatal strangulation (sometimes referred to as \u2018choking\u2019) is not only a risky sexual practice but also carries serious legal consequences, and it comes up more often than many people realise. We've researched the legal side of non-fatal strangulation, so you don\u2019t have to. So, what does the law say about it?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Evidence shows that \u2018choking\u2019, or non-fatal strangulation (NFS), during sex carries significant risks of harm, and that these potential risks are not widely understood. However, recent reports indicate that NFS during sex is becoming increasingly more common. Prevalent myths and misconceptions about NFS, often perpetuated by pornography and the media, make it all the more important to talk about. And in fact, the law says more about strangulation than you might expect.<\/p>\n<p>If you have experienced NFS, you are not alone. There is support available if you are finding it hard to cope with the feelings that have followed your experience. You can find more details about the support available at the bottom of this blog post.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><em><strong>If you have strangled someone during sex or are thinking about it: what does the law say?<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Strangulation and suffocation are criminal offences.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Strangulation is a very risky act, and there is no safe way to strangle (read more about this in our blog <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/never-ok\/2026\/02\/05\/the-truth-about-choking-during-sex-understanding-serious-risk-and-harm-of-strangulation\/\">The Truth about 'Choking' during Sex<\/a>). The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/domestic-abuse-bill-2020-factsheets\/strangulation-and-suffocation\">Domestic Abuse Act 2021<\/a> classifies strangulation and suffocation as specific criminal offences, which means that sentencing can reflect the seriousness of the assault, regardless of injury. The law considers both the physical and psychological harms that can be caused by strangulation, including the risk of death. Strangulation or suffocation is <a href=\"https:\/\/sentencingcouncil.org.uk\/latest\/understanding-strangulation-and-suffocation\/\">defined<\/a> as any of the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>putting hands around someone\u2019s neck<\/li>\n<li>choking someone with an arm lock<\/li>\n<li>using an item such as a scarf or belt around the neck<\/li>\n<li>covering someone's mouth and nose, and<\/li>\n<li>applying pressure to the chest<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Sentencing when someone is convicted of strangulation range depending on culpability and harm (read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sentencingcouncil.org.uk\/guidelines\/strangulation-or-suffocation-racially-or-religiously-aggravated-strangulation-or-suffocation\/\">here<\/a>). The starting point for low culpability and limited harm is <strong>one year in custody<\/strong>, but for the most severe cases sentencing can include <strong>up to four years in custody.<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong>Just because someone has given consent to be strangled, that doesn\u2019t mean you are excused from the harm caused in the eyes of the law.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>For people who are considering strangulation to increase pleasure in sex, it is very important to consider the possibility and consequences of something going wrong, including the legal risks. Gaining consent for any sexual act is very important for ensuring that everyone feels safe and comfortable, and it is something that everyone wants to do. However, once someone starts being strangled, they lose the ability to make rational decisions because of the lack of oxygen. The law acknowledges that when someone is experiencing severe bodily harm, such as having their airways and blood flow restricted, they cannot consent to any activity, regardless of whether they consented to the initial act or not.<\/p>\n<p>Section 71 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/domestic-abuse-bill-2020-factsheets\/strangulation-and-suffocation\">Domestic Abuse Act<\/a> says, <strong>\u201cConsent to serious harm for sexual gratification is not a defence\u201d<\/strong>. The implications of this statement are that if the person you are strangling reports you to the police and there is enough evidence to prove that they experienced physical or psychological harm, you cannot use their consent to the activity as a defence. It is up to the person strangling to prevent harm, and because strangulation is so risky, <strong>there is no safe way to strangle.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 data-start=\"339\" data-end=\"526\"><em>If someone has strangled you during sex: what does the law say?<\/em><\/h3>\n<p>The law considers the impact of strangulation more than might be expected. There are two important points for those who might have experienced strangulation:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Physical marks are not the only way to evidence strangulation \u2013 the law considers psychological impact too.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>There is still a persistent myth that if the strangulation did not leave physical marks on the skin then it \u2018isn\u2019t that bad\u2019 or didn\u2019t cause any long-term harm. However, <strong>up to half of all victims of strangulation do not show any physical symptoms at all<\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/domestic-abuse-bill-2020-factsheets\/strangulation-and-suffocation\">The Domestic Act 2021<\/a> acknowledges the terror caused by strangulation and the long-term psychological impact on victims. As the <a href=\"https:\/\/sentencingcouncil.org.uk\/guidelines\/strangulation-or-suffocation-racially-or-religiously-aggravated-strangulation-or-suffocation\/\">sentencing guidelines<\/a> say, \u2018All cases of strangulation involve a very high degree of inherent harm. A victim may experience extreme terror, fear for their life and be deeply traumatised. Harm can include a range of internal and external physical injuries and psychological impacts, immediate and delayed, for which presentation may vary between victims.\u2019<\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong>Strangulation and domestic abuse are closely connected<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>There are many contexts in which strangulation might be used as a method for asserting power and control in a relationship.<strong> If someone has strangled you unexpectedly, whether that was during sex or not, the experience can be extremely scary.<\/strong> This type of force and violence is illegal, and it is often linked to a wider pattern of coercive control and domestic abuse.<\/p>\n<p>The law includes the specific offence of strangulation and suffocation because of the prevalence of their use in domestic violence and abuse contexts. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.femicidecensus.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/2000-Women-full-report.pdf\">The 2025 Femicide Census report<\/a> found that strangulation was the second most common method of killing in female homicides at 29%, compared to 3% of male homicide cases. <a href=\"https:\/\/ifas.org.uk\/dhr-reports-2024\/\">A report<\/a> from the Institute for Addressing Strangulation (IFAS) found that \u201859% of those who were killed by strangulation had experienced non-fatal strangulation prior to their death.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Experiencing strangulation is serious. Domestic violence can escalate quickly, and strangulation may be a precursor for more dangerous behaviour. The law takes domestic abuse seriously too; strangulation occurring in a domestic abuse context is an aggravating factor for increased sentencing.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Reporting your experience<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With these points in mind, it is crucial to remember that reporting to the police is a personal decision. The law itself is explicit about illegal behaviour regarding non-fatal strangulation, but this does not mean that everybody who experiences it will report. Sometimes, the experience of moving through the criminal justice system might not lead to the kind of justice that is sought out or needed by victim-survivors. Many people choose not to report for reasons such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fear of not being believed<\/li>\n<li>Fear of repercussions from the abuser, including further violence<\/li>\n<li>Fear that they won\u2019t be taken seriously (especially when the strangulation didn\u2019t leave any physical marks)<\/li>\n<li>Not wanting to talk about the experience because of the trauma caused<\/li>\n<li>Distrust of the police and potential bias in their response, and many other reasons<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Despite these barriers to reporting, reports to the police have increased since the specific offence of strangulation was introduced in 2022. <a href=\"https:\/\/ifas.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Strangulation-and-Suffocation-Offences-June-2023-June-2024.pdf\">A report<\/a> by IFAS found that 39,360 offences of strangulation were registered in 2023, an increase of 40% on the previous year. This increase could be because strangulation is being used more widely and commonly in various relationships. It could also be due to increased awareness of strangulation as a specific offence and increased public awareness of the harms of engaging in it, encouraging people to report it. Regardless of the reasons, it is clear that the spotlight is on strangulation. With new laws being proposed to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/society\/2025\/nov\/03\/pornography-depicting-strangulation-to-become-criminal-offence-in-the-uk\">ban the depiction of \u2018choking\u2019 in pornography<\/a>, and the new <a href=\"https:\/\/assets.publishing.service.gov.uk\/media\/6943d2da9273c48f554cf592\/VAWG_01_Strategy_FINAL_171225_WEB.pdf\">Violence Against Women and Girls strategy<\/a> specifically naming the normalisation of strangulation as a public concern, increasing awareness of the risks, impact, and laws around strangulation has never been more important.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Support at the University of Bath<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you need support after an experience of strangulation, there are many places to turn to.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In an emergency (if you feel unsafe, like someone will hurt you, or you may hurt yourself), call 999.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>For students<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Student Support Advisers can help. Visit the Roper Centre at 4 West (open 9am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday), or complete the \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/form.typeform.com\/to\/teNNprJQ\">online form<\/a>. They may refer you to the \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bath.ac.uk\/guides\/sexual-violence-and-domestic-abuse-response-service\/\">Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse Response Service (SVDARS),<\/a>\u00a0 who offer specialist support, safety advice, and guidance on reporting.<\/p>\n<p>Students and staff can also report an incident of strangulation or access confidential advice through the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bath.ac.uk\/campaigns\/support-and-report\/\">Support and Report<\/a>\u00a0tool.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For staff<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Staff can speak to their HR Advisor for support.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bath.ac.uk\/campaigns\/health-assured-wellbeing-support\/\">Health Assured<\/a>\u00a0 also offers free, confidential counselling and wellbeing advice to staff members.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Specialist external support<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Visit a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) for support after sexual harm.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebridgecanhelp.org.uk\/\"> The Bridge<\/a> is the SARC for Bath and Somerset and they provide support 24\/7<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bath.ac.uk\/professional-services\/student-support\/\">Student Support<\/a> at the University of Bath<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk\/\">National Domestic Abuse Helpline<\/a> (run by Refuge) available 24\/7: 0800 2000 247<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.galop.org.uk\/\">Galop<\/a> (for LGBTQ+ survivors of abuse) available various times, see website: 0800 999 5428<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mensadviceline.org.uk\/\">Men\u2019s Advice Line<\/a> (run by Respect) available Mon-Fri 10am-5pm: 0808 8010 327<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/respectphoneline.org.uk\/\">Respect Phoneline<\/a> (for people perpetrating harm &amp; abuse) available Mon-Fri 10am-5pm: 0808 8024 040<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Non-fatal strangulation (sometimes referred to as \u2018choking\u2019) is not only a risky sexual practice but also carries serious legal consequences, and it comes up more often than many people realise. We've researched the legal side of non-fatal strangulation, so you...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1987,"featured_media":308,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[8],"class_list":["post-302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-neverok","tag-neverok"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/never-ok\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/136\/2026\/02\/NeverOK-3.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pd4Poz-4S","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/never-ok\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/never-ok\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/never-ok\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/never-ok\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1987"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/never-ok\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/never-ok\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/never-ok\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/never-ok\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/never-ok\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/never-ok\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}