At least one in eight young people are choked by their partner during sex, according to new stats from YouGov.
The stats show that 15 per cent of young women and 10 per cent of young men are being choked during sex with their partners. An even higher percentage are yearning to be choked, with 13 per cent of young men and 18 per cent of young women reporting a desire to be choked by their partners.
The statistics are even higher for young people grasping their sexual partners’ throat during sex, with 33 per cent of young women and 21 per cent of young men reporting that they have their throat held during sex.
On the flipside, 27 per cent of young men and 23 per cent of women have held their partner’s throat during sex. And many of the men who don’t already engage in this practice are keen to start, with 41 per cent reporting that they want to hold their partner’s throat during sex, but don’t currently.
This comes three months after the government confirmed it would make choking porn illegal, and two months after the porn crackdown in July 2025, which requires pornography sites in the UK to implement over-18 age verification in order for users to access any content.
The research polled a total of 8,110 adults across Great Britain, who were surveyed between July 27 to August 5.
Alongside the frequency of choking, the survey found that younger Britons (aged 18 to 29) are also very interested in slapping, with one in eight young Brits wanting to be slapped in the face during sex. Meanwhile, spanking is common, with almost four in ten (39 per cent) young women being spanked as part of their sex life, and one in five (20 per cent) young men.
Read more: One in seven young women are choked during sex. Here's why it has become the norm
The research discovered that young Britons are less likely to consider these BDSM behaviours as particularly “extreme”. Only 40 per cent of 18 to 29-year-old men find choking and restricting airflow during sex to be “very extreme”, compared to 83 per cent of men aged 60 plus.
Older women are especially likely to find choking during sex extreme, with nearly 90 per cent of women aged 60 plus calling the behaviour “very extreme”, compared to 44 per cent of 18 to 29-year-old women.
Experts have warned that there is “no safe way” to engage in consensual sexual choking without risking permanent brain injury or even death.
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Speaking to Glamour, academic and sexual violence expert Professor Clare McGlynn said that choking: “Impairs women's cognitive and memory functions. In other words, it causes brain damage, just like being hit as a boxer or rugby player.”
It is thought that the criminalisation of choking porn will help to quell the practice. Speaking in the House of Commons, Dame Diana Johnson told MPs: “We know that the increasing prevalence of this kind of content [...] is fuelling violent sexual encounters.
“In any given month, over 10 million adults in the UK will access online porn, and the vast majority of them will be chaps. That's up to them. We don't judge. But we also know from research that online porn is so widespread that one in 10 children have seen it by the age of nine.
“Unfortunately, it is the guide that many young people use to learn about sex, and that is why I'm extremely worried that non-fatal strangulation has been found to be rife on porn sites.”
The amendment will be made to the Crime and Policing Bill, with further details on its form (and when it will likely come into place) to be set out in due course.
