In Sydney, Australia, a 16-year-old girl has died from suspected sexual strangulation with her 16-year-old boyfriend. Police are still investigating, but this case has brought attention to the fact that many children are getting their sex education from pornography. What do we do when this is what they learn, that sexual strangulation is normal and enjoyable?
Online porn has become a part of the lives of young people. Companies make billions of dollars off of this addictive service, and violent porn is proliferating. An analysis of thousands of videos from popular pornographic websites found that physical aggression, like strangulation and hair-pulling, was present in 35–45% of the scenes. While there is no evidence to suggest that watching ethical porn results in an increase in violent behavior, research from the Australian Institute of Criminology has shown that more frequent intentional viewing of violent porn is associated with a “small but statistically significant” increase in violence against women by men. Couple this with the fact that the average age of initial consumption of porn is 13. Girls are learning this is what boys want, and boys are learning this is what girls want.
Sexual strangulation is now thought to be the second most common cause of strokes among women under 40 in the UK. Possible long-term effects include depression, anxiety, memory issues, seizures, and brain damage.