Professor Susan Edwards examines the rise of online violent content

What happens when violent online content becomes normalised faster than the law can respond?

In her compelling article for Counsel Magazine, Professor Susan Edwards examines the rise of strangulation and suffocation pornography, a deeply troubling form of technology‑facilitated violence against women and girls. She explores whether the recent amendment to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (s 63(7A)(aa)) can meaningfully regulate this material and offer real protection.

Professor Edwards connects this challenge to a wider international effort — spanning the UN’s 16 Days of Activism and the UK’s Freedom from Violence and Abuse strategy, which seeks to reduce VAWG by half over the next decade. Even so, she raises a sobering concern: the rapid escalation of online harm is outstripping the ability of current laws and regulations to keep pace.

She calls for more coordinated action across law, enforcement, tech platforms and culture itself.

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Susan Edwards is Professor of Law at the University of Northumbria, a barrister and RLC Door Tenant, trustee of Advance, a leading domestic abuse charity and formerly Director of Research at the Pornography and Violence research trust until 2004. Susan will be appointed KC (Hon) on March 23 this year for her contribution to reforming the law of England and Wales on domestic abuse, gender-based violence and homicide.