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CANBERRA, Australia—Australia’s federal government is considering a ban on pornography that depicts strangulation or choking, putting the issue before Parliament as officials examine whether existing online safety measures go far enough. Tanya Plibersek, a Labor MP and social services minister in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government, announced the proposal over the weekend, with other senior political figures confirming that the issue is under consideration.
“There is something wrong with a situation where 60 percent of young people say they’ve experienced strangulation,” Plibersek said on the Insiders program. She said the government was taking the proposal “very seriously.”
“This is not sex education. It’s not real life,” Plibersek said. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Albanese’s office said, “The Albanese Government is deeply concerned about young people being exposed to sexual strangulation and other harmful behaviours through online content such as pornography.
“That’s why our world-leading online safety laws include strong protections to prevent children from being exposed to age-inappropriate content,” the spokesperson added, referring to industry codes enforced by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner that regulate adult entertainment websites operating in the country.
Other reports indicate that Australian Attorney-General Michelle Rowland is working with Plibersek and senior Labor and Liberal MPs on legislation that could prohibit the depictions and make the conduct a criminal offense.
Pressure for a ban increased following the recent death of a teenage girl in Sydney. New South Wales Police believe she died as a result of a “suspected sexual choking act.” She was found unresponsive when medical first responders arrived and died several days later at a hospital in a Sydney suburb.
Australia’s proposal has drawn inspiration from the United Kingdom, where Parliament adopted amendments to a broad Crime and Policing Bill that prohibited depictions of strangulation in online pornography, including material involving consenting adults.
