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Possession of porn featuring strangling to become a crime in the UK

(www.theguardian.com)
39 points GaryBluto | 9 comments | 04 Nov 25 00:13 UTC | HN request time: 0.208s | source | bottom
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eqvinox ◴[04 Nov 25 02:59 UTC] No.45807023[source]▶
Ok, so it can cause some brain damage. That's not good.

But does it cause more damage than smoking? Alcohol? Cannabis in young people?

We give people the right to exercise their own judgement in getting hurt for pleasure on those, so if the argument is that this one is not OK it better be an order of magnitude worse than the recreational drugs.

(I guess there's a distinction between the act and a recording of it, but last I checked smoking and alcohol are still legal in media for adults.)

Ed.: the act is apparently illegal too, "Due to these dangers, non-fatal strangulation and non-fatal suffocation were made a criminal offence as part of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021".

And it's really... odd... how the entire article is written as if the practice is solely performed by men on women. (Even though that might be the prevailing pattern, this kind of 'condensing down' is ultimately sexist erasure.)

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1. kelnos ◴[04 Nov 25 03:57 UTC] No.45807283[source]▶
> Due to these dangers, non-fatal strangulation and non-fatal suffocation were made a criminal offence as part of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021

Wow, this sounds like a great way to get screwed over by a former, disgruntled ex-partner. Partner wants you to choke them a bit during sex, you know (or don't know) it's illegal, but think "eh, it's fine, what we do in the privacy of our own bedroom is our business, and $PARTNER really likes it". Fast-forward to an acrimonious breakup, and your former partner is now accusing you of an illegal act.

I 100% get that domestic violence is a real thing, and even aside from that, there are some things that we do try protect people from, even if they consent to it, but I feel like this crosses the line.

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2. somedude895 ◴[04 Nov 25 05:16 UTC] No.45807628[source]▶
You can already screw over former partners by simply saying that some sex was non-consensual.
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3. tavavex ◴[04 Nov 25 06:50 UTC] No.45808084[source]▶
Can you? How would that work in practice? Isn't this just "he said/she said" with no way to resolve it, unless you're filming yourself every time?
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4. erdlet ◴[04 Nov 25 07:36 UTC] No.45808375[source]▶
If your partner asked you to stab them in the belly as a sexual kink, would you do so? I would hope not. Same principle applies to strangulation. You don't have to inflict harm just because you're being asked to.
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5. watwut ◴[04 Nov 25 07:37 UTC] No.45808388[source]▶
I would start with assumption that strangling, cutting or beating someone is likely to be illegal. There are not that many countries with bdsm exception to those. And strangling is literally the most dangerous of all those. If you are strangling someome under assumptiom that of course it must be legal, you are likely breaking the law in all kinds of unaware and dangerous ways.

And yes, in domestic violence situation, strangling is pretty consistent predictor of actual murder attempt later on.

6. dragonwriter ◴[04 Nov 25 07:44 UTC] No.45808420{3}[source]▶
> Can you? How would that work in practice? Isn't this just "he said/she said" with no way to resolve it

Conflicting claims or testimony are common in the legal system, and we do in fact have means of resolving them. They are not, of course, 100% guaranteed to resolve things correctly, but it is simply false to say that there is no way to resolve it.

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7. anakaine ◴[04 Nov 25 09:55 UTC] No.45809174[source]▶
What kind of nonsense argument is this?

In no way is being stabbed pleasurable. Your average person knows that this results in death, charges, jail, etc.

Light choking is quite common amongst sexual partners. It can be incredibly arousing for many. Its is, generally speaking, not at all dangerous when both parties have a very basic understanding of how to do the act safely. It is certainly possible for something to go terribly wrong, even if incredibly rarely.

There is a massive difference between domestic abuse choking and sexual pleasure choking, and tour argument is a fantastic example of how being incredibly reductive is damaging to the argument youre trying to make.

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8. erdlet ◴[04 Nov 25 10:55 UTC] No.45809576{3}[source]▶
Please read this paper and reconsider your perspective, it's a systematic review from medical professionals that discusses the harms of strangulation: https://doi.org/10.1080/09602011.2020.1868537
9. tavavex ◴[04 Nov 25 17:09 UTC] No.45813322{4}[source]▶
You didn't really answer my question, you just assured me that your opinion is right. What could be used here, exactly? Like, suppose I accuse someone. They say they didn't do it. There's no physical evidence or witnesses at this point, so there's no way to deduce anything from impartial evidence. What can be done here to decide who's right with any worthwhile degree of confidence?