Kelly Stafford

WARNING: I see @FetLife has updated their policies to: “restrict certain content from being viewed by people in the United Kingdom”. On strangulation and suffocation images they state that: “Pornographic pictures and videos that explicitly and realistically show one person strangling another (applying pressure to their neck) or suffocating them (blocking their breathing by covering their mouth and nose or compressing their chest).” This appears to reference the MoJ Guidance: gov.uk/guidance/crime-and-po… This guidance states that: “We consider that suffocation will generally mean depriving a person of air in a way that affects their ability to breathe.” However, government guidance is not binding on a court in interpreting legislation; and Section 106 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 does not define what constitutes suffocation or strangulation: legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/202… Nevertheless, FetLife’s given examples of what their restrictions on strangulation and suffocation images do not include are: “Breath play done to yourself, Hands resting on someone's neck without applying pressure, Collars, chokers, or necklaces worn without applying pressure to the neck, Rope wrapped around someone's neck without applying pressure, Ball gags or other gags that don't restrict breathing, Hoods or masks that don't restrict breathing, Facesitting that doesn't restrict breathing, Someone sitting or lying on another person's chest without restricting their breathing”. BEWARE: these examples should not be relied upon, since it is for a court to decide, based on the images in question (the evidence) whether a possession or publication offence has been committed.