The death of a 16-year-old girl in Sydney in recent days has once again raised alarm about how many adolescents may be engaging in choking during sex .
Authors
- Danielle Thielke
PhD Candidate, Communications & Culture, School of Arts and Humanities, Edith Cowan University
- Kelly Jaunzems
Lecturer in Public Health, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University
Emergency services were called to a Northern Beaches home late on Sunday afternoon, where the teenager was found unresponsive. She died in hospital on Tuesday night.
New South Wales police are investigating what led to the girl’s death and have not disclosed the nature of her injuries. But media reports have called it a case of suspected sexual choking .
Strangulation, including sexual choking, is a criminal offence in all Australian states and territories, whether or not the act is consensual.
But there’s a strong body of harm minimisation research on risky behaviours (such as drug use in sex ) that shows criminalisation doesn’t stop people engaging in them, and can actually make situations more deadly. Legal consequences can make people less likely to seek help when things go wrong, and make health professionals more reluctant to provide support.
So, how can we improve safety for teens? Young people we’ve interviewed in our research have told us what they want and need.
Criminalising choking
Sexual choking is when pressure is applied to the neck to restrict air or blood flow during sex.
It’s not a new phenomenon. Records of sexual choking date back to the 18th century . Restricting breathing during sex (breath play) has also long been practised by the BDSM and kink community as a way to intensify sensations, or as part of power exchange.
However, sexual choking has gained increasing attention in recent years, particularly in regards to young people.
Consent has been a complicating factor in the debate around criminalising sexual choking.
If someone dies during sexual choking, consent may be difficult or even impossible to establish.
But even in situations where both partners confirm consent was given, participants may be charged with a criminal offence as sexual violence perpetrators.
Why criminalisation doesn’t work
Criminalisation may be viewed as a positive step towards addressing sexual violence.
Combating sexual violence is urgent. In Australia, 22% of women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15. Around 40% are girls aged between 10 and 17 .
But criminalising other specific high-risk behaviours can actually increase the potential for harm. What we know about harm minimisation suggests this would also be the case for sexual choking. When all instances are deemed illegal, it can make it harder to differentiate between sexual assault and consensual encounters.
Criminalisation pushes sexual activities underground. People engaging in these activities may have less access to support and find it harder to seek help when they need.
For example, we know criminalisation can increase risks for sex workers, who may be afraid to seek help when they’re in danger or have experienced sexual assault.
Instead, research suggests we need better relationship and sexuality education that is relevant to teens and focuses on reducing their risk of harm, not criminalising them.
What teens have told us they want
There are already some promising approaches for minimising the harm associated with sexual choking, including consent education, relationship education and increasing awareness of the medical risks.
But current initiatives often avoid discussing high-risk sexual behaviours or practices that fall outside mainstream practices.
In our research with colleagues on relationships and sexuality education, teens have told us they want accurate information and education resources, including those that address “risky behaviours”.
For example, Miles (16) told us more information about how to set up consent boundaries, such as safe words, would help:
in my cohort, [sexual choking is] seen as something that’s a bit risky, but a bit cool, […] so there’s a lot of lines that are crossed because they don’t know how to set them up or while there might be safe words, they might not actually know how to [implement them].
Teens also said they want interventions such as relationships and sexuality education, podcasts, and information libraries that provide objective information about a wide range of activities.
Young people need safe avenues to seek support without fear of legal repercussions or stigma. This includes the ability to have open conversations and gain information on sexual activities, including high-risk activities like choking, without judgement.
By understanding what it is about choking that a young person finds appealing, we can tell them about safer alternatives and make sure they’re informed of the risks.
Is porn the problem?
Porn and social media have become the focus for the increase in sexual choking. For many, the immediate assumption is that this is where the responsibility lies. For example, consent education advocate Chanel Contos told the ABC :
As soon as I read this alleged incident […] my initial thought was porn companies have blood on their hands.
This response is frequently echoed. However, in our research, teens expressed that the depiction and normalisation of choking has been shaped by a range of media influences, not just porn.
The public debate often ignores the role of mainstream media such as TV shows or movies depicting and normalising sexual risk-tasking, rough sex and not using a condom.
Instead of focusing on who or what is to blame, we need to shift our attention to focus on minimising harm.
The bottom line
The recent teen death linked to sexual choking is tragic. But we know telling teens to abstain from risky sex doesn’t work.
Instead of focusing on criminalisation or blaming porn, attention should be directed towards harm reduction interventions, including guidance on consent, safety information and safer sex options.
Comprehensive education and information increases understanding, allowing teens to make informed decisions, and often leads to less harm.
We would like to acknowledge and thank Giselle Woodley, Sexologist, Lecturer and Research Fellow in Communications and Culture at Edith Cowan University for their support and contribution to this research.
The National Sexual Assault, Family and Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.
