Choking: Urgent warning is issued over dangerous sex act being normalised by young Australians
A new study shows that choking during sex is becoming more common among young people.
Nearly 60 percent of Australians under the age of 35 have been strangled or choked by their partner during sex, according to a survey of 4,702 people conducted by the Universities of Melbourne and Queensland.
A whopping 78 percent of transgender and non-binary people reported being strangled during sex, as did 61 percent of women and 43 percent of men.
On average, people reported being strangled six times by three partners. Thirty-one percent of respondents reported being strangled for the first time between the ages of 19 and 21.
The research, published Tuesday in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour, found that more Australians are seeing strangulation as a normal part of sex, with 59 per cent of men strangulating a partner, compared with 49 per cent of women.
Many respondents said they had not consented to the strangulation, said Heather Douglas, co-author of the study and a law professor at the University of Melbourne.
The study found that consent given during an initial sexual encounter was typically interpreted as consent to strangulation during subsequent encounters.
According to Professor Douglas, more extreme pornography is increasing the pressure, especially among young women, to be adventurous and not ‘boring’ in the bedroom.
Nearly 60 percent of Australians under 35 have been strangled by their partner during sex, as the act becomes increasingly common among young people (stock)
She warned that strangulation during sex can cause brain damage, even if the person is conscious and there are no visible injuries.
“The risks of brain injury increase with each subsequent strangulation,” Professor Douglas wrote in the report.
“So it’s a bit like a head injury, where injuries can build up. A miscarriage can also be a result of strangulation, and can happen a week or months later. Strangulation can lead to a stroke.
“There can also be a gradual decline in memory. One of the things we really have to remember about strangulation is that in most cases you don’t have any visible injuries… and yet it can still cause damage.”
According to researchers, it can take less than 10 seconds for a person to become unconscious from sexual strangulation and 150 seconds for death.
Sexual violence experts launched the ‘Breathless’ campaign and website on Tuesday to raise awareness about the risks associated with rough sex and strangulation.
Young Australians shared their own experiences with the campaign.
Professor Heather Douglas said there is growing pressure on young people, especially young women, to not be boring in their sex lives and to be ‘more adventurous’.
“There are definitely violent practices like strangulation and beating that are almost vanilla now, especially strangulation. It’s very mainstream,” Matilda, 18, shared.
‘Cause that’s what they see in porn, [they think] “Okay, I see rough positions, she must like that. I see choking, she must like that,” wrote Lana, 22.
Amy, 19, said: ‘I’ve been in situations where I felt like I was actually being murdered.’
According to experts, strangulation is a cultural phenomenon that usually originates from pornography, and later from films and social circles.
Maree Crabbe, project leader of It’s Time We Talked, said there has been an ‘explosion’ in harmful sexual behaviour by children and young people towards their peers.
“That’s the pointy end that tells us very clearly that something is wrong,” she said.
‘Pornography, a global multi-billion dollar industry, is shaping what sexuality looks like and how it is experienced, with enormously damaging consequences.’
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