SEX: SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT EXAMINES NON FATAL STRANGULATION LAWS AND INTIMATE PARTNER HOMICIDES

by Bill Heaney

There is an old joke in the West of Scotland about sex being something people in Kelvinside – where they are considered to have posh accents – carry coal in.

The truth of the matter is that sex is something that was seldom if ever mentioned in a respectable Scottish household.

Sex, and how people go about it, however, was the subject of extremely serious discussion in the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood on Thursday.

It emerged over the last few weeks that even in the Scottish Parliament some MSPs appear to be obessesed with sex, so much so that the police had to be called in at one stage.

The subject was also at the centre of one high profile resignation.

The curtain was drawn away from the subject when it was announced there would be a member’s debate on a motion, in the name of Labour MSP Claire Baker, on non-fatal strangulation laws and intimate partner homicides.

Calls for legislation to create a standalone offence of non-fatal strangulation (NFS), in light of new research led by Professors Sonia Oreffice and Climent Quintana-Domeque at the University of Exeter on intimate partner homicides and NFS brought this about.

This is the first known study to examine the impact of standalone NFS laws on intimate partner homicides across multiple jurisdictions internationally.

It notes that the study finds that, in US jurisdictions where NFS has been criminalised as a standalone serious offence, intimate partner homicides fell by double-digit percentages, with female-victim homicides declining by around 14% and male-victim homicides by 27%, and estimates that more than 1,500 lives have been saved since the adoption of such laws; expresses concern regarding the view that these reductions could highlight a significant gap in Scots law.

It understands that criminalising NFS could be considered as a potential approach to reduce the deadliest consequences of intimate partner violence; further understands that NFS often leaves no visible injuries, yet is a strong predictor of future lethal violence, and that, in the absence of a standalone offence, NFS may go unrecorded or be prosecuted only as minor assault due to the absence of visible injuries or a weapon.

And it “notes with alarm the scale and salience of violence against women and girls in Scotland and considers that standalone NFS laws could disrupt any escalation of violence and coercive control and help prevent lethal outcomes and wider harms.

Claire Baker, left, said she had worked together with Opposition MSPs Tess White and Michelle Thomson”to raise the profile of non-fatal strangulation”.

“The research on intimate partner homicide and non-fatal strangulation is not only academically rigorous but profoundly human in its implications. Their work has brought new evidence into focus and it gives renewed urgency to the discussion,” she added.

“Non-fatal strangulation is not a new concern. It is an issue that I and others have been raising in the Parliament for a number of years with successive justice secretaries and First Ministers, as well as in debates and through questions.

“The normalisation of non-fatal strangulation, driven by pornography, should be challenged. I welcome the intention of the Online Safety Act 2023 to outlaw choking in online pornography, making it a priority offence.

“The Institute for Addressing Strangulation has carried out two surveys. In less than a year, there was an increase, from 35 to 51 per cent, in the number of people aged 16 to 34 who reported being choked during sex.

“While 70 per cent of people said that consent was established before choking and 38 per cent reported that they enjoyed it, 27 per cent said that there was no consent and 36 per cent felt scared by the action.”

Ms Baker warned: “Although the focus of today’s debate is the research that seeks to strengthen the legal framework, we must recognise that IFAS research shows that 29 per cent think that there are safe ways to strangle, 38 per cent enjoy it and 18 per cent think that it is a normal part of sex. We can legislate more, but that will not necessarily stop non-fatal strangulation in intimate relationships.

“Non-fatal strangulation is not risk free. It can cause serious internal injury, brain damage or loss of consciousness within seconds. It can cause incontinence, coughing, neck pain and confusion, and can lead to anxiety and depression.

“However, it might not leave visible marks, and the absence of visible injury can affect how incidents are recorded, investigated or prosecuted. It can be used as a tool of control and coercion. Survivors describe how terrifying the experience can be, not only because of the physical danger but because of what it represents—an assertion of total control over breath, consciousness and life.”

She asked: “As a Parliament and as a society, are we prepared to challenge the normalisation of strangulation within sexual relationships? What are we going to do about it?

“In 2019, research for BBC Radio 5 Live found that a third of women under 40 had experienced unwanted slapping, choking, gagging or spitting during consensual sex. The Centre for Women’s Justice said that the findings showed the ‘growing pressure on young women to consent to violent, dangerous and demeaning acts’.

“I have pressed the Scottish Government to undertake research into the normalisation of violence and sexual activity, including choking, reflecting the evidence and unease that acts that carry a high risk of serious harm are being continually framed as routine or expected.

“In Scotland, there should be a multidisciplinary approach that encompasses public health, education and justice. It would appear that that is not the case and that there is very little recognition of the prevalence of the practice and its consequences.

“Non-fatal strangulation in intimate partner relationships is too often minimised, misunderstood or treated as a lesser form of assault, but the evidence that is being presented today often recognises it as a strong predictor of future lethal violence.

“Consent does not exist in a vacuum, and where there is fear, coercion, power imbalance and risk of serious harm, the concept of consent becomes problematic. The survey shows that 46 per cent of respondents consent to being strangled or strangling others because their partner enjoys it, not necessarily because they enjoy it. Treating strangulation as normal, mutual or harmless risks obscuring abuse and silencing victims.

“The research that is highlighted in today’s motion reinforces why that matters. It is the first known international study to examine the impact of stand-alone non-fatal strangulation laws on intimate partner homicide rates across multiple jurisdictions, and its findings are striking.

“In US states where non-fatal strangulation has been criminalised as a distinct serious offence, intimate partner homicides fell by double-digit percentages. Female victim homicides declined by around 14 per cent, and male victim homicides fell by 27 per cent.

“The researchers estimate that more than 1,500 lives have been saved as a result of those laws. Those represent people—overwhelmingly, though not exclusively, women—who are alive today because earlier intimate-relationship violence was recognised, taken seriously and interrupted before it escalated into something fatal.

“They suggest that when the law clearly recognises non-fatal strangulation as serious, dangerous and criminal in its own right, it can disrupt patterns of escalation and coercive control.

“Scotland has made important progress in recognising domestic abuse as a pattern of behaviour and not a series of isolated incidents. However, the evidence raises a legitimate and pressing question: does our current law sufficiently recognise non-fatal strangulation within that framework, or is there a gap that leaves victims at risk?

“We should examine whether existing offences adequately capture the harm, risk and intent that are associated with non-fatal strangulation.”

To be continued in The Dumbarton Democrat in the coming days.