Make throttling a specific offence - Times article

[ErrolTheDragon]

There's a piece in the Times today on this which will be of interest to many.
Link in next post.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/make-throttling-a-crime-to-ensure-tough-sentences-say-abuse-groups-wsfrxnzb8?shareToken=919a37b5fb0ec29dd832fa5863ffd593

My concern with such specific legislation like this is that it should be wrong and prosecutable anyway. Throttling someone during sex shouldn't be any more tolerated than throttling them in Sainsburies.

But by making it so specific, they're basically suggesting that other abuse is fine, that it's just that this one is too dangerous, but feel free to spit or slap, after all, if they were bad we'd have made them illegal too.

About time. I've heard it's been very effective in Australia. No excuse of sex games gone wrong if there is an outright ban on something.

@SkylightAndChandelier

My concern with such specific legislation like this is that it should be wrong and prosecutable anyway. Throttling someone during sex shouldn't be any more tolerated than throttling them in Sainsburies.

But by making it so specific, they're basically suggesting that other abuse is fine, that it's just that this one is too dangerous, but feel free to spit or slap, after all, if they were bad we'd have made them illegal too.

It is already prosecutable - as are other forms of physical abuse. The problem at the moment is that it's likely to be treated as common assault, with a maximum sentence of only 6 months - if it's even prosecuted. As this piece makes clear, this is a highly gendered crime, and one which is a massive red flag for progression of violence towards murder of the woman.

Yes, true, and I can see the argument for focussed legislation which makes it very clear that it's not acceptable too - like mobile phone while driving.

This is really important. There are efforts to normalise throttling/strangulation as part of an 'adventurous', non-'vanilla' sex life and easily accessible porn is full of it, but it is really bloody dangerous and the stats in the article can't be highlighted enough:

survivors of [throttling] are seven times more likely to become the victim of a domestic abuse killing.

Nearly one third of female homicides in the UK were a result of strangulation or suffocation in 2018, compared with 3 per cent of male homicides.

It really does need to be a separate offence.

I was lucky really in that he only did it as a gesture.... No pressure.

If "non-fatal strangulation" is criminalised, perhaps women won't be sued for libel if we use the word "strangulation" when complaining about this dangerous and violent act for which many of us don't know the current legally preferred term.