Professor Fiona Vera-Gray warns that the UK Government 'needs to wake up to the fact that pornography is part of the fabric of that violence in our culture now'.
Date: 27 February 2025
Content warning: this article contains comments about sexual violence.
Published today, a major government-commissioned review led by Baroness Gabby Bertin calls for urgent action to ban degrading and violent pornography. It urges ministers to give Ofcom powers to regulate harmful content and outlaw depictions of strangulation, incest, and extreme violence.
The review highlights that non-fatal strangulation - already a crime without consent - is widespread in online porn, normalising violence against women and girls.
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Despite these stark warnings, Professor Fiona Vera-Gray argues the government’s response falls short. Speaking to Woman’s Hour, she said:
"While I am very pleased to see Baroness Bertin’s important review published, I am concerned that the government’s response to it seems to miss the point.
"We have warned for decades that the nature of online porn is becoming more extreme and harmful to women and girls with depictions of strangulation and incest now commonplace. And yet the law has not kept pace with the ever-darkening nature of pornography and no government seems to want to act.
"We know that strangulation is now a frequent part of women’s sexual experiences, including the experiences of young women. Male defendants in court are using the commonality of strangulation in online pornography as part of their defence. Teenagers are saying they are confused about what is normal and acceptable.
"The UK government has a welcome and ambitious aim to halve violence against women and girls but it needs to wake up to the fact that pornography is part of the fabric of that violence in our culture now. Unless they urgently regulate online pornography as we regulate all other industries, no amount of sex education classes in schools will make up for these new harms."
Professor Fiona Vera Gray teaches on London Met’s Women and Child Abuse MA within the School of Social Sciences and Professions.
Fiona is an activist, researcher, and campaigner working on violence against women and girls. She comes from a practice-based background, working for over a decade in the Rape Crisis movement before moving into academia.
London Met’s Women and Child Abuse MA is a pioneering programme equipping students with the expertise to tackle violence against women and children through policy, research, and frontline work.
The course is taught by experts from the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit (CWASU). This globally recognised research centre has influenced policing, policy, and support services for over 30 years.
