Three harmful types of pornographic content will soon be banned, the government has confirmed. Here, Stylist’s acting content editor Lucy Morgan unpacks what the laws mean, how they will be enforced and whether they will make a difference to the safety of women and girls.
Content note: this article contains references to choking, strangulation and child sexual abuse that readers may find upsetting.
In exactly three weeks, it will be illegal in England and Wales to own or create pornography that depicts strangulation, sexual activity between certain family members, and sex involving adults roleplaying as children. For many of us, it seems incredible that there’s even a need for the government to legislate in this area. How were porn platforms able to get away with creating and distributing this content for so long? And will anything actually change when these new laws come into force?
We may not like it (or admit to liking it), but pornography impacts all of our lives on a daily basis, from how we see ourselves to how we relate to others. It’s the reason a group of school girls are calling for a ban on school uniforms being worn in porn. As one of the students, Rose, aged 15, previously told Stylist, “I was recognising all of the moments where I was sexualised in my own school uniform. The moments where I had to worry about the colour of my bra when I was not wearing a jumper over my shirt.”
The new laws have been a long time in the making, following a review into porn regulation in 2025 by Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Bertin, who proposed outlawing “degrading, violent and misogynistic content” in porn to prevent real-world violence against women and girls. Although the new laws don’t explicitly ban school uniforms being worn in porn, the content could be considered illegal if the performers are deemed to be roleplaying as children. But in this instance, porn providers are likely to argue that the performers are simply depicting over-16 students, which will remain legal.
“This is an important step towards tackling the normalisation of violence against women and girls, and the result of years of campaigning by EVAW and other experts who have raised concerns about the impact of violent pornography,” says Janaya Walker, interim director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition.
However, there are lots of questions about the new laws on porn: who does it target? How will it be enforced? Will it actually make a material difference to the safety of women and girls? Here, Stylist speaks to Professor Clare McGlynn as well as experts from Ofcom and the End Violence Against Women and Girls Coalition to find out more.
This is about holding platforms accountable for the sexually violent content they host
Firstly, it’s important to understand what the new laws are and why they’ve been introduced.
The criminal offence to depict strangulation or suffocation in pornography
This covers owning and/or sharing pornographic content that explicitly and realistically shows strangulation – often referred to as ‘choking’ – which generally involves one person applying pressure to another person’s neck. It also covers suffocation or depriving a person of air in a way that affects their ability to breathe, such as covering their mouth and nose.
Why has it been introduced? Strangulation is prevalent in porn and is available on the landing pages of mainstream adult content sites, according to the government’s review. A study of women in the UK found that 38% aged 18–39 had experienced choking during consensual intercourse and 34% had experienced gagging. While 53% of respondents said that these acts were unwanted at least some of the time they occurred, for 10% they were unwanted every time they happened. Another study found that 13% of active girls aged 14–17 had already been choked. While strangulation is increasingly common in porn and our sex lives, research is unanimous: there is no safe way to strangle or ‘choke’ someone. Some research even suggests that strangulation is now the second most common cause of stroke in women under 40.
The criminal offence to depict sex between certain relatives
This covers owning and/or sharing pornographic content that depicts penetrative sexual activity between people who appear – or are pretending to be – related, otherwise known as ‘incest porn’. This covers ‘step family’ porn in cases where one person is portrayed to be under the age of 18.
Why has it been introduced? ‘Step-incest’ pornography is one of the most common categories on mainstream porn homepages. One in 10 children (15% of girls and 5% of boys) experience some form of sexual abuse before the age of 16, according to the CSA Centre. Fathers and stepfathers are the relatives most commonly convicted of intra-familial child sexual abuse. The idea is that banning this form of pornography will reduce child sexual abuse.
The criminal offence to depict sex involving adults roleplaying as children
It is already illegal to create or share any material featuring someone under the age of 18. The new law covers sexual activity between at least two people where a reasonable person would think at least one person is, or is pretending to be, under 16. This doesn’t cover ‘age-play’, a form of roleplay where adults consensually act or treat another as if they are a different age. The new offence covers material where a ‘reasonable’ person would believe the performers were pretending to be under-16, rather than engaging in a consensual form of kink.
Why has it been introduced? There are concerns that age-play pornographic content could encourage a genuine interest in child-sex abuse material (CSAM) – although the government’s porn review found that evidence was limited in this area. Similar to ‘step-incest’ content, porn that realistically depicts adults roleplaying as under-16s has been banned as part of wider efforts to protect children from sexual abuse.
The new laws technically apply to anyone who possesses or publishes these forms of pornographic content, including saving an image on their phone, uploading it to a website or sharing with another person. They also apply to any company that creates, hosts or distributes this content, including porn platforms, social media and messaging services. Clare McGlynn, a law professor and author of Exposed: The Problem of Extreme Porn, says: “It’s not about prosecuting individuals or telling them what to watch. This is about holding platforms and social media accountable for the sexually violent content they host and algorithmically promote.
“We must now all be laser-eye focused on the regulator Ofcom to ensure this law is enforced.”
A spokeswoman for Ofcom told Stylist: “Tech firms will have to take steps to assess and mitigate the risk of this kind of illegal content once our guidance and codes of practice are updated, but we expect them to begin taking steps to do this from now.”
For some people there’s a conversation to be had about whether the new laws are too restrictive of sexual freedom and harmful fantasies. But it’s important to remember that the government is legislating on porn – not consensual sex itself. There are still questions that need answering around how sex workers will be impacted by the new laws. For example, a sex worker who owns an image of themselves being consensually strangled won’t be criminalised for the image itself, but they won’t be allowed to share it.
We need more ambitious actions to address the drivers of such harmful attitudes, beliefs and behaviours
Janaya Walker
So what happens now? “The government must now ensure the ban is effectively enforced and update the Online Safety Act so that online platforms are required to remove this content,” says Walker.
She also points to the need for societal change more broadly: “We need more ambitious actions to address the drivers of such harmful attitudes, beliefs and behaviours in relation to sex, consent and relationships.
“This includes action to tackle the online business models which amplify and profit from sexual violence, plus greater investment in schools and educational settings to embed high-quality relationships and sex education, media and digital literacy. It is untenable that participating online for young people is so often accompanied by being served violent porn on social media feeds and other platforms, particularly without the necessary knowledge or power to challenge it.”
NAPAC (the National Association for People Abused in Childhood) offers support to adult survivors of all types of childhood abuse, including physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect. You can visit their website or give them a call on 0808 801 0331.
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